The Girl in Green: Finale Draft
by Saturnine Pariah
Summary: Dyllan had lived alone for a great portion of his life in a peaceful valley. Despite the companionship of his dogs and sparse encounters with villagers in Sigonella he still felt a longing for a different type of companionship. A routine hunting trip creates a chance encounter with a orange haired girl that would dramatically alter his life in ways he could never imagine.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: The Girl in Green

Spring had finally arrived after several months of snow and sleet blanketed the landscape of my home. The grassy fields, vibrant forests, newly sprouting wheat plants, and the vines that grew upon the bricks of my home all showed their vibrant new growths. The morning dew seemed to reflect and magnify rays of the morning sun off the landscapes greenery. The sounds of chirping birds and my three dogs barking awoke me to this revitalizing day of spring. As I dressed and looked out the window I fondly took in the view, rubbing away the last remnants of my drowsiness from my eyes. The place of my residence is an tranquil, peaceful and isolated place, far from most people. I live in a two story brick home; the humble structure was an inheritance from my late parents who built it before I was born and were i myself was born and raised. It was nestled in a valley in the northern hemisphere of the largest continent of this world, It is bordered by great forests to the east, rolling grasslands to the south and the extensive and awe inspiring Grelo mountains to the north and west.

Rarely did I see any hostile monsters or have to fight, a great blessing on my part which added to the serenity and ease of mind I had living here. Even so, I was always cautious on my travels on foot when i went beyond the borders of my estate. I would carry all the essentials if I had to stay the night outside my home. That morning I decided on exploring the forest just for the fun of it. After eating a light breakfast, attending to my chores, an out of the blue craving popped onto my tongue. I had a craving for venison or any wild game, it had always had a unique flavor over farm raised meat. Fresh deer meat in particular was on my mind and it's flavor plagued my thoughts. Knowing that I had nothing better to do, and that it would give me an excuse to go into the forest,I went with this impulse and began packing. I made mini- checklist as I reviewed what i had in my backpack. After completing my packing I grabbed my bow and arrows, knife, and adorned myself with a padded iron chest piece. The weight of the armor and pack almost caused me trip as I made my way through the wooden door.

After locking the door and calming down my three white dog companions, I walked slightly encumbered to my private rail-car. The red-stone powered tracks lead out and away to the east. The rail way ended at another piston station situated from my house about a few hundred blocks to the edge of the forest. My father's foresight in building this contraption really made my excursion far faster than walking. After pulling the lever the piston sent me flying through the green landscape. The forest was ancient and almost untouched, except for the trodden path that I had and my family had developed over the years. Rarely did I enter this primeval area for reasons beyond hunting or gathering the wild foods that grew in the on among or on the trees. The hunting blind I built was due south of me and so I began my trip with a cautious enthusiasm. It was small and unimpressive wooden box that sat nestled in the large branches of an huge ancient oak. Spring meant fresh growth and new shoots of tender young plants, which were very attractive for the deer. If that didn't appeal to them, I had a bait pile of old wheat near the center of a sparse clearing in the forest. My blind was situated above this bait.

With my pack and armor off, both resting in the corner, I stretched and prepared for the long wait that would ensue. And sat I did, waiting, listening and watching for anything to pass by; it was the customary price I had to pay for fresh meat. My bow and arrow were at the ready, but not fully drawn as I watched for what seemed like hours. The only visitors that came close to the bait were a pack of wolves and a doe and her fawn. Seeing the sun was beginning to wane and set, I realized that my trip was a fruitless endeavor. I decided to leave and to try again tomorrow, that was until I heard a loud crash and rustling in the flora below me. I could see the brush rustle and shake; I immediately drew my arrow taught and sighted in on the possible target. With adrenaline pumping and I breathed slowly, anticipating for my heartbeat to affect my accuracy. I began to see what the creature was that disturbed the brush. To my shock and surprise it was not an animal or a monster, But a young woman. Perhaps around my age of 19 or 20 . She was dressed in a faded jacket that was green with matching shorts, and wore open toed-brown shoes. The hood that covered her head leaked out orange-red locks of hair under the hood's rim like vines. The hood itself had embroidery of a Creeper's face on it; it was surprisingly realistic and fierce looking.

Her hair was longish, orange-red and unkempt. Her eyes were a distinct shade of amber, and with some straining of the eyes i though i saw some clusters of freckles on her cheeks. She was carrying apples, nuts and a few mushrooms in her arms and hummed as she walked through the clearing. Curiosity and a profound awe made me lower my bow as I gazed upon this new face. I took every detail to memory, her long smooth legs, petite frame and colorful hair. I mentally recorded this moment not knowing if I would ever witness her again. She continued to blissfully walk with her harvested food of the forest, humming a sweet little tune, all the while completely unaware of my presence. While caught up in the moment I failed to notice the direction in which she walked. In the seconds of my first sight of her, she apparently moved quit quickly while i was in my daze .She had walked to the base of my tree stand, i felt the vibrations of her movements as she began to climb the ladder upwards.

Panic took me out of my trance as I began to realize the situation at hand. Before I could react, she had already begun to throw her collection of food into the stand, she energetically burst upwards still humming her tune ,only to encounter me sitting on the inside. Her eyes grew wide with shock and surprise, the humming stopped and she was quiet. She was even more stunning up close,We both simply stared at each other for what may have been an eternity. She cocked her head in a pensive manner, she had a look of curiosity and confusion. Her eyes were still the size of dinner plates, they gleamed as she crawled slowly into the hunting blind. We simply sat there and mirrored each other's movements. She then asked in a confused and timid voice " W-What are you doing here?" So embroiled in this moment it took me a moment to register her question. She asked the question again but more sternly.

"What are you doing here?" I stammered in response...Still got off guard by this young woman's presence and her unique and utterly beautiful appearance. "I..I was hunting... I was about to leave when I saw you appear..." I silenced myself, unsure of what to say next, leaving an opening for her to respond. Her face was still wrapped in surprise but a spark of greater curiosity gleamed in her amber eyes at my response, she then directed her gaze at my bow and arrow. "What's hunting and what are those things you are holding?" she gestured with her hand at my bow and arrow. "Well it's when you kill an animal for food, and these are the tools one uses to do it… this is a hunting blind." I sat still, stilll anxious and surprised by her arrival, yet she seemed to drop her confusion and surprise rather quickly, only be replaced by a neutral expression. She refocused on her pile of food and began to separate the nuts, mushrooms and apples three little piles. The situation appeared to be more awkward for me than it was for her, an odd turn of events. I decided to shift my mind away from the gawky silence by trying to start a conversation with this mysterious orange haired girl.

"So why are you here?" I asked. She kept herself at a arms length, her hands perusing the various edibles that the forest had to offer. She kept her gaze from looking at me directly and made quick glances at me rather quickly with a neutral expression on face. The food was obviously a higher priority, and her body language showed that she was disinterested with me. " I sleep here sometimes, when it gets too dark outside or if it's raining" she replied plainly in a low tone. Seeing her composure I refrained from asking anymore questions, and I redirected my gaze outside the window with my bow at the ready. I made glances at her, she was more energized and emotive without my direct gaze, and she began to eat the various edibles with little care of my presence, biting, cracking open shell after shell and chewing at a voracious rate. The intake of food lightened her tense disposition, for the once neutral face she wore was now content and she wore a small smile the entire time. She paid little attention to me as I watched her eat more directly. It was amusing and entreating to watch a stranger eat with such joy and at blazing rate. I gave up on the hunt, I was far more interested in this strange girl and put aside my bow and arrow. I quietly leaned against the wall. The only distraction was the sight of the sun slowly setting in the window behind me. I had sat there and watched this girl eat enough food to put a pig to shame, I smirked and shook my head in silence. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the final rays of light from the sun fade from the horizon and wane into dusk. Before I could talk or try to re-intiate a converstation with her, I turned back to find the female interloper sleeping on her side after gorging herself on her food

The apple cores and nut shells were in a pile next to her," You must have been hungry" I said aloud to myself. Seeing that the sun's light was gone and the ever darkening sky crept forward, I weighted my options for what possible actions I could take. I would have to stay the night, but I was distracted by the now sleeping form in front of me, this young girl's face was simply peaceful, seeing it put me strangely more at ease. Considering the distance I would have to travel in the dark, I decided on staying the night in the hunting blind. I positioned myself near one of the corners and began to unpack my gear as quietly as I could as to not disturb my unexpected roommate. A sleeping bag, pillow and extra blanket were a standard part of my provisions.

I sprawled out a good distance away from the girl and kept in parallel to her frame; I plopped down belly first onto of the puffy sleeping bag, and rested my face on the pillow. It was warm enough outside to go without the covering up. Yet despite the distance between me and the girl, I still felt like that I was inappropriately encroaching upon her personal space. " It can't be helped I suppose" I whispered to myself, her presence prevented any sleep and I lay there awake looking around the interior of the wooden structure. I then noticed that the girl was shivering, which odd was considering that she was wearing a jacket. and that it was relatively warm I quietly crept closer to investigate. She shivered and began to whimper softly and pulled her limbs inward until she was in a fetal position. Her once tranquil sleeping face looked wrought with pain, rapid eye movements under her closed eyelids showed that she was dreaming. She was afraid of something or experiencing some form of horrid nightmare,. Dumbfounded and conflicted, I tentatively tucked my spare blanket around her, and crept backwards, she stopped shivering but her whimpering did not cease.

Apprehension, worry and my desire to help all rose up; my meager attempt at consolation did little to help her. I mentally yelled and argued with myself as to what I should do. _"What can I do?" "Help her!" "How should I?" "Comfort her you idiot!" " But I just meet his girl, she'd think I am some sort of freak". " That doesn't' matter can you sleep knowing that she is suffering?" "No, of course not! I just don't know what to do." " Well, what did mom and dad do when you had nightmares?" " They held me, rocked me and stroked my head" "Then do that!" _As all these thoughts raged and i was at the point of that my internal screaming might become audible grunts of frustration. Small tears began to roll down this girl's cheeks to join with her whimpering. Seeing this and hearing her soft whimpers broke down all my previous reservations, and doubts. _" Fuck it!" _

Without hesitation or a second though, i threw away any logical thinking or concepts of the repercussions of my actions and went with what my heart told me to do. In the heat of the moment I gently picked up her sleeping form up, still keeping the blanket wrapped around her and cradled her in my arms. I positioned her against my chest. Almost out of instinct I found myself softly stroking her head and held her against me tightly to support her frame. She didn't struggle or resist and as the time passed her whimpering stopped and her body relaxed into mine. She nestled her head onto like i was pillow, her rapid eye movements and pained expression was replaced with a smile on her face. She rubbed her head against my chest further almost like she were cuddling up to me. My heart was fluttering and a warm sensation washed over my body, i swear i could have felt her heart beating..She was very cute, and had surprisingly clean smooth skin, soft facial features and I could now clearly see the small clusters of light brown that scarely seemed to emerge from her flushed cheeks. I stared at her before my eyelids grew heavy, and my mind began to wander and fade from consciousness. I imagined that my face had to have been redder than red stone. I slowly fell asleep still gazing upon this girl nestled against my body. "I'm really going to regret doing this in the morning." i whispered aloud to myself. "_ But,you did the right thing though."_

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: My Name is Cupa.

The sounds of birds chirping and the piercing rays of what must have been the morning sun awoke me from my sleep. My eyes slowly took in the confined view of the dull wooden walls of the hunting blind. I yawned and scratched my chin. My back surprisingly did not ache from sleeping in sitting position against a wooden wall. I felt well rested despite not having slept naturally on my belly. Oddly i also felt far more relaxed than I had this morning than on any other previous mornings. I then felt a warm weight stirring against me, I looked down. The fierce scowl of a Creeper was staring right back at me, I jumped and made a small yelp. My heart was pounding but my surprise and fear faded as I looked closer and saw the fierce scowl of the Creeper was but bits of black cloth sewn onto the hood of a faded green jacket, beneath that was the placid and enchanting face of the same red-orange haired stranger. My memory came rushing back as the girl stirred and further nestled against me and sighed out of what could have been contentment. With as much finesse I could muster I tried to pry myself from her grasp...But with each movement I made, she contoured her frame closer to mine and her limbs wrapped around me, much like child would a stuffed animal. Her face was peaceful and a small smile spread across her lips. "Oh...Right" I whispered aloud to myself as the gravity of the situation fell upon me like a ton of bricks.

It wasn't that didn't enjoy her embrace it was awkward for sure,yet it felt very warm and comforting . It had been years since someone hugged me so tenderly. It was as if my mother or father were holding me again, a familiar sensation of security and warmth that I long though had left me since they departed from this world years ago. I sighed again; I would simply have to wait until she woke up, but a painful realization struck down like lighting. "_Oh dear Notch, how is she going to react when she does wake up though!_" I yelled in my head. I now saw this girl resting on me to be a time bomb as dangerous as an actual Creeper . I began to look back into my memory to reflect on the events that had led up to this potential volatile scenario. My mind began to race and conjure up potential outcomes for how she would react once she awoke. Many of which i projected me getting slapped at best or having my face clawed out at worst. I felt a creeping sense of regret wash over my mind as I looked at this slumbering figure. The young, and still nameless girl still nestled on my chest, had further contorted her body into a curl around me; she draped her slender arms around my torso and rubbed her head upon my chest. All this drove me further into a silent nervous panic as i began whimper to myself in silent regret.

She let out a small silent yawn, and my heart fluttered at the sound and sight of it, my curiosity displaced some of my anxious anticipation of her awakening. Questions began to arise looking at her, which mediated my fixation on her possible reactions to finding herself in the arms of a complete stranger. "_Where are you from? How old are you? What are you doing out here? "How long have you been out here in the wilderness?" "Do you live alone?_" _" Where's your family?"_ but the final question I asked aloud, causing her to awake from her slumber. "What is your name?" she was obviously not a morning person; she was sluggish in her awakening. With Eyelids still drooping and mumbling incoherently she lifted her head upwards and meet my eye level. Her eyes were a dark shade of amber, they looked like orbs made from the very sap of a tree. Her brilliant eyes, coupled with unique hair and her faint clusters of freckles made her more beautiful up close than from a distance, my heart raced harder and faster with our faces merely hair lengths apart.

The spark of consciousness lit in her dull gaze, as she slowly began to register the scenario; she went from drowsy to active in mere seconds. Her eyes widened and she shoved herself away from me and settled against a corner of the blind staring at me. She huddled inward upon herself in a defensive posture. Her face was a flushed admixture of embarrassment, surprise and anger "W-Why are you here?! W-Why were you holding me like that?!" She yelled with an extended finger pointed at me. I recoiled at the verbal attacks and sunk backwards out of shock and surprise. She then noticed the blanket that I wrapped around her; it drew her attention for moment and a bit of her spite away from me. She then scanned the interior briefly but fixated her gaze on me, I could feel her eyes crawl on my body as she looked me over. Her face grew slightly more relaxed but showed that she was still peeved. She then examined the blanket wrapped around her, then made quick glances between me and the article of blue-grey clothe that i had adorned her with . She blushed and her stern face melted away. "T-thanks" she mumbled as she wrapped the blanket further to hide herself.

An awkward silence took roost, I grasped for my thoughts and fumbled mentally at what I should say to this girl. "Y-you fell a-asleep before me." I began to mutter out, she took note and leaned out from her corner. With her curious gaze it was difficult for me to pick my words as I tried to explain what I had done last night. "Y-you, you were shivering and I, I thought that maybe if I covered you up that you might be warmer." Her face showed some surprise and blushing, she scooted away from the corner and closer towards the center. "But you started to whimper and cry..you looked like you were having a nightmare..I just couldn't in good conscience leave you in that kind of state." She swaddled the blanket tighter around herself and scooted even closer. "The only thing I thought of was to comfort you… which meant..Well..Holding you. It worked though because you relaxed and slept the whole night without shivering or crying anymore …I…uh.." I nervously laughed and looked away, I heard her shuffle slightly as I stroked the back of neck, with my face flushed and i waited for her response.

I turned to meet her gaze only to see her wrapping the blanket around herself ever more tightly with a small sheepish smile on her face; her cheeks were as red as red stone. "T-Thank you.." she paused and looked at me, before she could speak both are stomachs gurgled out of hunger. She actually stared to laugh, and I joined in it was all we could do to fill the void of a awkward morning. By the end of it, it led into another awkward silence. My stomach still growling I retrieved my pack and began to dig for the food and water I had packed. Beef Jerky, nuts, and dried apple slices, were a staple of my diet when on outdoor excursions. The still nameless girl looked at my small food sacks with a heightened interest. "Want some?" I asked as I gave her one of my ration packs, she cautiously approached closer, and plucked the small leather pouch from me and scooted away from me immediately. She pulled out a good handful of the dried foods and ate the nuts and dried apples, but left the jerky. She examined the Jerky as if she had never seen anything like it before.

As she sniffed and licked the meat sticks I began to chew away on my rations, watching her try and figure out what the jerky was. "It's food don't worry" I said in-between my bites, "But you might want to drink some water afterwards" I then handed her a small flask of water. She tentatively took a small bite of the jerky, her eyes lit up and she began to devour the jerky. She began to cough. " That stuff is dry, but it's really tasty!" she cheerfully commented. She then gulped down her flask of water. I had eaten around my jerky as well, she eyeballed my dried meat like a hungry dog, I chuckled and gave her half of my portion. She fingered with the food and looked me in the eyes. "Thanks, I'm sorry but what's your name?" I was slow to register until she asked again."Oh...its Dyllan...my name is Dyllan" "Thank you Dyllan" she replied. She nibbled on her food with a content smile. "May I ask you what your name is?" she was taken aback by the question "You, want to know my name?" her response was unsettling, she had said it as if no one had ever asked her that question before.

"Well...yes, it's only proper that I learn the name of the person that I helped and whom I'm sharing a meal with." she paused and her face saddened. "No one, in a long time has asked me that" she curled into herself and her face showed some discomfort. I felt some guilt seeing her like this, maybe she didn't feel comfortable with disclosing her name? "I'm sorry, if you don't…" she interrupted me " No, I'm not upset, it's just it's been so long.." her demeanor went up to some degree, but there was still a flicker of angst in her amber eyes. " My name is Cupa.." "Cupa?" she nodded in affirmation with a small smile. I extended my right hand towards her, "Well it's very nice to meet you Cupa," she looked at my hand then to me, and gingerly wrapped her hand around my own. Her hand felt weightless, warm and light as a feather when we shook. "Same here, it's nice to meet you too Dyllan".

Feeling somewhat more stable and not as precariously anxious as before, I started to think of questions to ask her as I ate my food, but she beat me to the point. "So what were you doing out here yesterday again?" "Well..I was hunting." I grabbed my bow and arrow to illustrate, "As I said yesterday, it's when you kill an animal for food, that jerky you ate is from a deer." She continued to nibble away at her meat sticks, she just cocked her head with a confused face. She had no idea what I was talking about. " So where did you come from? I know this forest like the back of my hand..I've never seen you meddling around these parts". I relaxed and leaned forward from the wall. "Well, I live a good distance from here, I rarely comes out to the forests, so I guess we're lucky to have met." She fell silent again and stared right into my soul while munching away with a little bit of jerky sticking out from her lips.

"Speaking of which, how long have you been out here in the forest? Do you have house or shelter out here…Beside this hunting blind?" she rubbed her wrist and looked away, discomfort washed over her body as her shoulders drooped and she lowered her gaze away me. "No…I don't have a home…and I'm…" she trailed off as she replied in a weak and whisper like voice. Unease was written all over her face, I had touched another nerve, and I felt like I was treading on a field riddled with booby traps talking with Cupa. "I see." was all I could mutter in weak response. Part of me wanted to ask more questions but seeing that it caused her this much discomfort..I held my tongue. It tore up my consciences to see her upset, and again I felt awkward obligation to help her. "You can have the sleeping bag, pillow and blanket if you want..I know it's not much..But at least you wouldn't be sleeping on bare wood or the ground..." I looked over at the objects wary of making further eye contact with Cupa. It was a solid offer, they would offer some convenience for her, but it still felt like I was skimping out on a real solution. She looked at me, somewhat surprised at my offer; she discarded the blanket and placed it aside as she scooted closer to me.

" A-are you sure? You don't have to give me those...Don't you need them?" I waved off her protests as I folded the sleeping bag in question and placed it in her lap." No, it's no problem, besides I can always make more of them. This stuff would be better off helping you". Her hands began to rub and caress the fabric and leather of the sleeping bag and pillow. A small smile began to curl up on her lips." I don't know...What to say…" she looked back to me, her posture and disposition more upbeat. She scooted even closer to me, her face showed the utmost gratefulness. "You barely know me...And yet you've treated me so kindly...I don't know how to thank you." She said this with a sweet sincerity, it caused me to blush. She giggled looking at me, which caused me to blush even more and nervous sweat began to accumulate on my brow.

"What about you? Do you live alone? Do you have a family?" she asked innocently I hesitated with the questions, "I... " I choked up mid-sentence, as the memories of my departed parents flew through my mind. My body tensed up and my mind began to wander as i tired to answer, she actually scooted next to my side, I glanced at her quickly only to see worry on her face. My heart sent a small spasm of sorrow flooding through my chest. "I live alone..." I closed my eyes and turned away from her, i felt physically incapable of telling her that my parents had died. " Are you okay?" she asked. I didn't' respond, i was too wrapped up in dispelling my emotions. She broke me away from this when she actually put her hand on my shoulder, and as i reopened my eyes i saw genuine concern in her gaze. " I live alone.." is all i said again in low whisper. I didn't want to concern her, so i stopped myself from reveling too much before the floodgates of my heart would be opened. Yet despite my attempts to push the issue aside from her, she leaned in and grabbed my hand. "What are you doing?" I then felt her wrap herself and the blanket around me. "What you did for me." she responded in soft and soothing voice. I didn't protest to her advancement and let her embrace me.

It felt, reassuring to have her comfort me like this, in spite of our mutual ignorance of the other. She was returning a favor in helping a another person who was suffering, and i was glad for it .Even with an air of mystery wrapped around her, I felt a connection with this girl. For some unexplained reason, the warm sensation that washed over me from her presence seemed all too familiar yet so alien at the same time. We sat silently for a time she didn't break away and neither did I; the only sounds that broke the tranquil silence were that of the forest in the morning . I wanted to return the embrace, but I withheld this and simply sat and enjoyed the feeling of her company. Even so, I knew I would have to return home and attend to my chores, the livestock and dogs couldn't feed themselves. At the same time however I didn't want to leave Cupa. I gingerly broke away from her embrace and began packing, I knew it wouldn't be right to just pack and leave her, not after she had displayed compassion for me, a stranger she had just met. I had my responsibilities and reasons to leave, i also felt a personal obligation to help her in anyway i could, that's just how my father and mother were too, compassionate and generous. I had most certainly inherited their big hearts. She looked on silently as I packed away my gear and adorned my armor. "A-are you leaving?" she asked in a disappointed voice. The tone and look in her eyes reminded me of that of an abandoned puppy. "Yes…but I'll be back." Hope emerged at my promise and she smiled. "Is that a promise? You'll come back to see me?" I smirked and patted her hooded head. "I promise."

.

End of Chapter Two.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Don't you have a Home?

"So I move this piece here?" Cupa asked still confused."No it can only move like this" I then guided her hand on the board as she moved the knight "Oh...so this one moves like in L?" I nodded back as she cautiously moved her knight against my bishop. She was still learning the intricacies of Chess, but she was eager to master this new challenge I had to offer. She groaned in some frustration as my pawn took her knight. She still had to learn all the patterns in which all the pieces moved on the board and improve upon her awareness to my pieces. "Don't try to beat yourself up too much. It's take while to get good a chess." She began to pout , puffign her lips out and crossed her arms, her display had the opposite effect on me and I smirked at how cute she actually looked when she was pouting which just enraged her even more."It's your turn, or do you not want to play anymore?" she looked at me with a glare, still wearing her pout. "Yes, I still want to play!" she came back into the game with fiery determination, she still lost despite her aggressive passion and hands on approach. She was only four moves away from putting my king in check, but blew all on taking my queen. She groaned out of frustration and turned her back to me. I reached out and patted her hooded head. "Do you want to know where you went wrong?" she turned her head, raising and eyebrow out of curiosity. I pointed out the four moves she could have made to have put my king into check. " Okay let's play again!" she demanded with her fist curled and confident smirk spread across her lips. We played, in total, seven quick and decisive games inside the hunting blind by the end of It Cupa began to sulk, that is until i gave a few pats on the her head and a hand full of some jerky both of which always cheered her up when she was upset.

This would mark the seventh day that I had come out to visit Cupa and spend time with her. A heartfelt promise I made to keep an enchanting girl from becoming upset, evolved into a week long series of adventures shared by the two of us. She showed me wonders to behold in the forest that she called home. The forest was a whole world unto itself with countless mysteries and beauties to be discovered. On our first excursion together she showed me a cave filled with naturally growing crystals that all sparkled with a wondrous color spectrum, it was as if looking at a tangible rainbow. On our second excursion she showed me the largest tree I had ever seen, the trunk alone was the size of a small house, it had to be thousands of years old. On our third meeting she was my guide when we visited an untouched head spring that seemed to have no bottom. The waters' surface was a deep blue and looked like glass. These adventures let us grow closer and closer with each passing day. There was never a dull moment around her, those initial days were awkward, and we were skittish around each other. But as time went on in the week we grew more comfortable around each other. She was spontaneous and always eager to greet me or to be in my company. She always took charge to be my guide in her world of the forest. She also was subtly showing signs of a deep trust in me or maybe even affection in the recent days. For on occasion when I wasn't looking, while we walked or sat and shared a meal she'd stealthily took hold of my hand, i paid no mind to these actions for in some way she took the action i would have done myself if hadn't been so hesitant. What was even more notable and curious about her behavior is mention that whenever I did have to sleep outside the home, which occurred on my fourth and sixth trips, I would awake to those morning to find her curled up beside me. She must have had a high level of trust towards me do have done this out of her own will.

I would be lying if I said that I didn't appreciate her company or grow found of her in this week, she was a very good friend and having her around elated me from the mundane repetition of my life back home. Aside from the natural beauties she had shown me, the majority of our time spent together was spent talking. Oddly conversing with her was easier and felt more natural than my previous experiences with talking with other members of the fairer sex. The words flowed out and i didn't fumble nervously. My input into these sessions were short and informative, but Cupa loved to elaborate on her responses on the questions I asked. These conversations took place while on our brief walks, sitting in the hunting blind or under a tree. However the more enlightening of these conversations occurred while sharing meals, food really helped to relax her and open her up to conversation. I asked very few general and opened ended questions, for in an odd way i felt like i already understood her without having to talk to her. She read into this and did the same, she displayed the same courtesy as i had for her when she asked a similar pattern of generic questions to me. However she asked far fewer than i had, perhaps she felt the same unspoken bond that i had for her? What i had learned was this,She was nineteen, and was born in December but she had forgotten exactly which day. From her memory and account she had been living in the wild for roughly four years.

Upon further inquiry I learned from her that she once lived in near a small village called Tacipe, which after doing research back in my late parents mini library at home i found that Tacipe did exist and was a week's travel due north west of my home. It sat on the edge of a taiga forest and was once famous around the region for it's hot springs and timber production, knowledge of this village's existence abruptly ended four years ago prior to the current year. She and her family lived on a homestead near Tacipe for fourteen years, only for that all to end after a week after her fifteenth birthday. She did not say much about her parents directly or about what happened to them, the village of Tacipe or to her after her last birthday with them; she only described her parent's professions as traveling merchants who settled down to raise her, and how they were very supportive and loving. She spoke nothing directly about their appearances, personalities or even their names. As for what occurred after that last birthday, all she said was " Something very bad happened". Beyond that, her parents and the five years of her life up until our meeting were an enigma. Even with the briefest allusion or reminiscence to her past, she would drop the subject entirely and avoid talking of it. she would detract form that and told of the happy portions of life, she had described was identical to mine, a loving warm home, supportive loving parents and welcoming friendly village. Learning what I could only raised further questions. "_What happened to her parents? What happened to the village of Tacipe? What happened to cause this girl to have to survive for four years on her own?_" I refrained from these questions in fear of bringing up bad memories for her. I had my history and boundaries to which she respected.

She was still a little disappointed that she lost the chess games, so pressing further to have my curiosity satisfied about her would be unmannerly. I was honest with the few questions she did ask me, and I knew that once she trusted me more, the answers would come in time. Still my imagination began to wander with the information she had bestowed upon me, a four year long gap in her history would allow for a multitude of scenarios to play out in my head, Until Cupa interrupted me by pinching my nose with smile. This also brought me back on track for my hidden motives for meeting here today. Unbeknownst to her I had occupied my waking hours to refurbishing my old room to accommodate her as a house guest. I had thought long and hard about inviting her to live with me, I knew in my anxious, sleepless nights that I would not condone or abandon her to live alone in the woods one more day or night when I had plenty of space and food to share with her. The room and the amenities of house were already built for for more than just one person, the chore of cleaning out my old room was finished two days ago. All I had to do now for work is to man up the nerve to ask her.

Cupa sat beside me and leaned on my right shoulder, her hand slithered around my own, she peered over my face, curiosity mixed in her innocent gaze. "Your thinking about something aren't you?" I looked to her and made a sly smile. "What makes you say that?" she tightened her grip on my hand and rested her chin on my shoulder. "Well… you always make a face when you're thinking." " Oh Really? How do I look when I'm thinking?" she paused and put a finger on her chin. "Well, you stare off into space. Your eyebrows furrow and you sometimes you tug at your soul patch. Are you okay? Is something troubling you?" I sighed as I contemplated trying to explain as best as I could while under the trance of her face." Listen, Cupa... Seeing that you don't have any real permanent residence or home" I slightly paused to pick my words carefully. "My house is not too far from here… and if you feel like it...You are welcomed to stay at it anytime and for any duration."

Again I felt my face heat up and I tried to avoid making any further eye contact with her. It all sounded so much smoother in my head. She was in shock in disbelief "W-what?" she stuttered while looking me deep in the eyes. I averted my gaze and rubbed my neck out of nervous habit. "I've got a spare room that you can stay in; plenty of food, whatever you need basically...You can stay with me." Before she could protest I raised finger " I will not take no for an answer..I don't want to see you out here in the wild anymore. It would be criminal of me to not offer you a safe place to stay when I have the means to do so." I turned back to see her, she was smiling, almost teary eyed; a huge grin was spread across her face. "I can stay as long as I want? This isn't a joke? You mean it?" she said with an energetic zeal. I nodded emphatically, "Yes, you'll get your own room, bed and hot meals every day. That's a promise" Cupa in an embroiled moment simply burst forward and hugged me tightly, she began rubbing her happy but teary eyed face into my shirt. I thought I might just suffocate from her eager response of appreciation.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she repeated over and over again as she hugged me. The moment was bittersweet; her energetic response was again like a sword in my heart. Her responses lead me to only begin to guess what hardships she had endured while living on her own, the huge feeling of uncertainty, fear and the loneliness. Being so young and to live in wild with no support, it sounded like a nightmare. Granted I could empathize with some of these emotions, but not to the degree that she had to endure. These thoughts began to swell up in the form of small tears, for her sake I held them back. To respond so happily to my offer gave me a brief but surreal look of context to her life, this was a girl who must have lost everything and now that someone is kind enough to give back. At the same time though, I felt relieved knowing that I could offer her a sanctuary, a warm home and stability and if permitted a set of friendly arms to hold her when she is scared or upset.

"Okay...Cupa" I said in soothing manner to try and calm her down."Let's go to your new home." She fetched her meager worldly possessions from her hiding spot; an auspicious log next to large mossy rock. In an old brown leather sack was everything she had owned or collected over the years. Tied to it was the sleeping back and pillow I had given her. The leather straps rested low on her shoulders. I packed the chess game, collected my gear and met with her on the ground. Cupa affectionately wrapped her blanket around herself, rubbing her face into the soft fabric. Even after seven days she kept the blanket clean, and always had it on her person. She treated it the way a child would treat their very first present or gift, a cherished item she kept from me. Her treatment of my gift showed not only her appreciation for it, but a subtle display of affections towards me vicariously. It was heartwarming to see Cupa this happy and excited. "You really like that blanket don't you" She nodded sheepishly, trying to hide in it as she wrapped it around herself. The rail car was due north of us and it would be the fastest way to return to my home without a hitch. We began walking in the direction of my map and compass and quickly found the station I had built. Cupa again displayed a passionate awe and wonder of curiosity when she saw the system that was constructed by my late father.

"What is it?" she asked darting around the metal and wood structure. "It's a simple piston system that launches the rail cart" I showed her the lever and explained the mechanics of the wooden box jutting with metal gears. "We ride in the cart, I pull the lever, a piston pushes us and the rails carry us faster to the house than by walking" her eyes gleamed ever brightly as I prepared the system, the red stone charge was adequate for this run, but I would have to replace them soon. She focused in on every little movement of my hands to the finest detail with avid curiosity."Okay Cupa, just sit down inside" I offered her my hand as I finished putting in our luggage and helped her down, she sat on one of the crudely installed cushions. She inspected the grey-metallic hull of the cart and looked back up to me "Are you sure this is safe?" I entered on the opposite side facing the piston block and lever.

"Completely, traveling by rail or boat is far faster and safer than by foot" she looked around nervously, "Dyllan what is a boa.." before she could finish her question I had already pulled the lever and the cart went flying. She screamed shortly as the cart was propelled by the power nodes acceleration propelled us further. Again in what would be foreseen as her eventual habit she grabbed onto me tightly and was screaming. A few seconds into the ride she became less tense,stopped her screaming and began to observe her surroundings, she was again in awe of how fast we were traveling. "I have never seen these parts of the land before!" she yelled. Everything was new for her, this entire experience an adventure and I her guide through it. "Is that it? Is that were you've live?" she asked as she pointed in the direction of the end of the rail line.

It was a two level brick home; with a protruding middle section that encompassed the door. Windows adorned the front and sides letting in sunlight. The rectangular building sat on top of a hill overlooking a small duo of lakes both interconnected by small streams that fed into each other. On the larger of the two lakes, a dock led out into the shallows with a small boat tied and anchored. Mountains rose and fell behind the red abode, with trees, grasses and wild flowers growing on the outcrops. My dogs were playing in the yard in front while the livestock bellowed or ate food in their fenced-in pens. Vines grew on the mortar which added an aesthetic value to the humble structure. Fenced in gardens and flower beds grew in the front of the property near the lake's edges. It must have been a sight to behold for Cupa, and for me it was always a relaxing and picturesque view. e. I still couldn't help but develop a sense of fondness, reminiscence and thankfulness at every moment when I gazed upon what my parents created or my childhood memories living in this valley. I grabbed Cupa shouldered and a smile beamed across my face. "Welcome home Cupa" I exclaimed, she looked back to me again with a profound expression of awe and excitement "Welcome to your new home".

End of Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Housewarming

As soon as the rail car stopped at the secondary piston station, my three dogs promptly ran over, yelping all the while excited to my return. All three were jumping and yelping as I hobbled over the rail car's interior, swaying about with my luggage, Cupa giggled at my plight but stayed seated in the cart. Still trying to maintain my balance my dogs jumped on top of me sending me sprawling onto the ground. "Alright, alright settle down fellas!" I yelled as I propped myself back up and pushed the dogs aside. Cupa was now standing directly behind me, wary of the dogs, she used me as shield. "D-do they bite?" she asked timidly whilst looking around my shoulder. Their ears propped up and their noses began to sniff the air as they noticed Cupa. She moved herself closer to me, flinching at each touch of their mussels on her as they sniffed and investigated this orange haired stranger.

She flinched and tensed up "W-What are they doing?" she used me as barrier and circled around me trying to avoid the curious canines. "They're just getting to know you" I said, I began to pet them. "Dogs identify people through smell, so for them this is how they greet a stranger". Cupa's worry subsided as she watched me pet the dogs, again I could read her like a book. She played with her hands, apprehensive, reaching out then withholding her hands. She was in conflict and showed that she wanted to pet the dogs but was still wary of the strange white canines. "Don't think about it too much, and don't be afraid." I grabbed her hand and guided it to the head of one of my furry companions. She slowly began to pet the head of the dog. "He's so soft and warm, you're a nice doggy aren't you?" she giggled as she stroked the head of my furry companion.

"The one your petting is Baxter, the other two are Vince and Cody" the dogs responded to their names in unison by cocking their heads. "All three are brothers; I found them on their own when they were just puppies about a year ago. They were starved; cold, and helpless…I just couldn't leave these furry little buggers out there." I put Cody into a headlock and he licked my face. "So I took them in, and raised them as my own". Cupa stopped petting the dog and then stood more relaxed around them, a renewed attitude towards the dogs clear in her smile. I release my grip on the furry neck of Cody and stood besides her, She then poked my shoulder, "You're really a softie aren't ya?" she made sly look at me and laughed. In response and gave her head a good rustling causing her hood to slide over her face. "I guess I have weakness for helpless creatures I find the forests " I said in response as i smirked at her, she punched my rib-cage playfully then readjusted her hood. "I'm not helpless" she said with a mock pout on her face. "Do you know what happened to their mother or pack?" "I did look…but I couldn't find their mother or any other wolves in the area to take them in. They were orphans…all alone." The dogs simply sat panting and staring at us. "They're lucky to have met you; I mean what could have happened to them if you had not taken them in?"

The sentiment in her voice revealed more to me about her vicarious appreciation for me taking her in as well. "Well I guess that you're lucky too Cupa" she smiled and blushed at the statement and simply nodded her head. After greeting the dogs I began to lead her on a much more detailed tour of the property. She asked frequent questions at every opportune moment. We made our way around the gardens near the house and at edge of the lake. I pointed out all the different food crops and flowers for dyes. However most of the crops were still just sprouting and unimpressive, but Cupa paid no mind to how underdeveloped the crops were. I showed and explained in part what a boat was and how to use it; she was in a perpetual state of curiosity as I explained and taught her about the lay of the land. The corral would be next on our visitation and she bolted to the wooden gates faster than I could. The animals bellowed and exchanged their sporadic noises as Cupa observed them.

She stood in a fixed position tantalized by the sight of the livestock; l went to the storage shed and brought out some feed. "Do you want to feed them?" she looked at the animals then to me, she eagerly nodded her head yes. "Alright, now just hold out your hands" she complied and I poured the feed in her hands. I began to pour the reaming feed from the large brown bag into their troughs. "Now just hold your hands through the fence". The animals who were not feeding from the troughs and curious of the orange haired women approached, sniffing at her hands with some caution. The brown and pink mugs of cows and pigs began to fight as they lopped up the brown food in her extended hand. Her body swayed and convulsed with her giggles and laughed as the animals ate from her hands. The pigs were especially voracious; their tongues sloped about her hand as they slobbered and gurgled with food still in their mouths. Her laughter and the sound of slobbering animals persisted as i as poured the remaining feed into her grasp. "Their...Tongues...their tongues tickle! It feels so weird!" she cheerfully exclaimed in-between her giggles. Seeing her laugh made me smile and shake my head at her amusement from such simple pleasures. She wiped away the animal's slobber on the grass and giggled.

Caught up in the moment of seeing how much Cupa was enjoying herself I nearly forgot to give her a tour of her new home. "I'm sorry to cut this short Cupa, but we've got to show you the house and get you settled in your room" she immediately ran back to me eager to go. The Chimney of the building stood out and protruded from the left side as we approached. Cupa looked on in awe "I've never seen a building like this." "You've never seen a brick house?" she shook her head no. "I grew up in a single story log cabin...it was wider than your house though. And all the houses in Tacipe were wooden or made of stone..not brick" I quietly nodded, as I jimmied the iron lock mechanism of the front door with my key. " Well, Don't worry it's wider on the inside. It's rather roomier than it looks"

The brick home I had inherited was raised in, was built long and tall, both levels had identical floor plans. It was roofed with slates of grey stone. She sprung into the front room as I unlocked the door like an eager little child, a trait that I was beginning to grow quite fond of in her. The front room welcomed us with a brown tiled floor and wooden walls adorned with curved pieces of metal art, paintings and the basking light let in by the windows. To the left was the dining room with a large oak table and four chairs, lit by a modest chandelier. Beyond that on the same side was the kitchen. Further down and to the right were the bathroom and laundry room. I showed and answered any questions she had for each room on the base level. We briefly sat in the living room which sat at the end of the left side of the base floor. It was adorned with a large single wool carpet and various paintings created by my mother, bookshelves stood near the corners to the right. The leather chairs sat close to each other in front of a dormant fireplace/ chimney. End tables were tucked away near the sides of the furniture of the sitting area

At the far right end of the building was the staircase to the second floor. "Alright Cupa, let's get you settled into your room shall we?" . We both ascended the staircase to the second floor. It was less decorative and looked more like long hallway. The only features visible were the four doors , windows and the chandeliers that lit our way. The top floor had four rooms, one was my old room which now was Cupa's, my parent's room In which I currently reside and two spare room that were now used for storage. Cupa looked at the four doors unsure of which one to approach. "Where is my room?" Cupa asked with a confused tone. "Your room is opposite of mine" her room's interior fixtures were identical to mine, the only difference was the size of her bed . My old room appeared was more spacious than my current one since she would be sleeping on a twin sized mattress while I slept on space consuming queen sized bed.

I guided her into her room and she silently gaped as she took in her new surroundings, a neat and tucked bed sat in the left corner with a small chest sitting at its end. To the left and past the bed sitting against the wall was a wardrobe closet stocked with clothes that I picked in the hope that they would fit her. A bookshelf took space on the right wall to the right and not far from it next to the door was desk and chair. It's was an aged but humble little thing and residing on it were a a small lamp, paper, quill and ink at the ready. All the wooden furniture had faint layers of varnish on them, it gave them a polished look ,and clean surfaces waiting for use. I stood in the doorway as she caressed and touched the clothes in the wardrobe, pushed downward on the bed briefly and tested the lamp. She then sprawled out on her back, vertically resting on her new bed and put her luggage aside and stared at the ceiling. I joined by her side, but sat upright. "So...do you like it? If there is anything you want to change…" She interrupted my sentence by quickly grabbing my hand. "It's perfect...Thank you..." she softly said. Content I got up. "I'll leave you to break in your room, if you need me I'll be in my room right across the hall" She continued to stare at ceiling "Okay" she said in the tone of a happy daze. I entered my own private sanctum and began to unpack my gear. I felt a warm sensation wash through me to this new event unfolding before me. "_You did the right thing Dyllan_" I thought to myself with smile. As I got up and turned, my face meet gazes with Cupa, I jumped backwards startled and landed on my rump. "Oh I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you!" she said apologetically with puppy dog eyes as she helped me back up. "Its fine…but dear Notch you're more quite than an Enderman. How did I not hear you come in?" she shrugged her shoulders and smiled " I dunno, I've always been good at sneaking... i guess am more like s Creeper." she clawed her hands and made hissing sound at me with smile. I laughed her cute threat off. She began to walk around my room. "So, this is your room..." she blankly said as she conducted her own personal tour.

"Yeah, it's a little smaller in space, since the bed takes up most of the room." She ignored my comment and approached me, her hands clasping against each other with a unsettled slouch in her shoulders." Is there something wrong?" "N-n-no" She continued to fret anxiously on her feet and made quick glances at me with an ever increasing blush. "Are you okay?" "Y-y-yes" she again sputtered out. An awkward silence filled the room. I sat on the bed, and rubbed my head out of the confusion. She sat down next me. "Dyllan?" "Yeah?" she grabbed both my hands and looked me dead in face. "I don't know how to possibly repay or thank you. You're doing so much for Me." her head drooped and saddened. She then pressed her forehead on my chest. "You've done so much...i don't want.." she trailed off. I drew her somewhat closer to myself, she didn't protest and somewhat pressed herself further against my frame.

"I don't, I just don't know how to handle of all this... kindness…it's been so long..." She fell silent. I sighed and hugged her a little tighter. "It's a big change…I know…and it must be strange for you…it's certainly a change for me too" I said sympathetically. She spoke again at an audible whisper. "You do so much for a stranger...It's…I feel like I'm so indebted to you." she softly said in another sad whisper. Her hands grabbed at the cloth of my shirt. I patted her head. "No, you're not a stranger, and you don't owe me thing" she raised her head to meet my gaze, her eyes slight teary. I wiped away the buildup of the moisture in her eyes with my index finger "All I want to see is to see you happy, healthy and safe. You're my friend Cupa and not a stranger, so please don't assume that i would think of you as anything less." She looked deeper into my eyes than before, a reassured smile spread on her lips."If you still feel that you need to repay me, then you can help me around the house or around the farm. However you're not obligated to. You'll be my guest and I want to make your stay here as enjoyable as possible." She smiled and hugged me tightly, burying her face into my chest. Like clockwork my heart warmed up and fluttered to her embrace a sensation that despite a week of experiencing her direct affections, it still felt as potent as the first time she made me feel this way on that fateful day and night.

"That's not the only thing though" she said in a muffled voice from my chest, I was confused but before I could ask she answered "I was a little scared...this is all so new and that frightened me, I just don't know how to act around you or how I should behave while I'm in your home". I stroked her hooded head "This isn't _my_ home; it's _your_ home too from now on. As long as you don't break or steal anything in this house on purpose, or try to hurt me. Then I won't bat an eye to how you behave while living here." I gave her a reassuring smile. She then broke her embrace and looked back into my eyes. " Thank you...and" her face blushed heavily and she looked away from me " What is it?" i asked curious. " Well..it's just...When you first held me that night, when we first met… that was the first time in a long time that I ever felt safe enough to sleep…or have someone actually care about me. I'm...glad that i meet you.." she darted her eyes away and pulled her green hood over her face to hide her embarrassment. It was cute and concerning,She started to play with the blanket in a coping manner. I closed my eyes, thinking back to that first night, I hugged her again. "You'll never have to feel nervous, lonely or scared again" I whispered near her ear. I repeated the soft but meaningful sentence; She met my embrace. I removed the hood from her face and looked her in the eyes while holding her shoulders. "You'll never have to feel that way again Cupa I promise you that".

End of Chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Tears in Tradition.

A more serene, pacified air entered my room, Cupa was reassured and the obvious anxious feelings she had, departed from her. Where there was once tension now only stood a relaxed understanding. Her worried face was replaced by her appreciative display in the form a smile. She took me into a tight hug. This constant hugging was still new to me, especially from someone who was not in my family and of the opposite gender. But it felt reassuring to have her hold onto me like this. Her unabashed affection made my chest warm up. She exerted her affection and gratitude with that hug with such great pressure, that I really thought my ribs would have cracked or broken, if she continued. It was heartwarming, but it was also disconcerting. It was her behavior and expression of gratitude, her chipper upbeat response..the anxious tears from before,it all simply reaffirmed my suspicions about her life. It must have tough and lonesome, to not have anyone to confide in or feel secure with, to not have a single place where you knew you were welcomed with open arms. These thoughts ran through my head as the girl still in front of me continued to hug me like a stuffed animal. She began to hum a little tune and nodded her head to her own rhythm.

She seemed to be in a trance of her own making. She drew contentment in this simple quiet moment we shared, and simply held onto me oblivious to my own unseen anxiety of dealing with such a gregarious girl. I sighed internally not wanting to dampen her good mood. "_Well Dyllan, you've certainly got your hands full with this girl._" though to myself. I felt my stomach rumble, over her soft humming. "_Right…I have eaten anything since breakfast_". I broke my embrace with Cupa, without trying to be rude. I heard her stomach also gurgle as well, we were both hungry. "Listen, why don't you wash up or finish settling in, I'm going to fix us something to eat. She said nothing before leaving me with another smile. "Okay" was all she replied before she then left the room. "I'll call you when the meal is ready." I called out to her, as she just exited the door. "Okay!" she replied in a faint echo. As i walked down the hallway, i took in quick glimpse of Cupa unpacking and settling into her new room, she was still humming that same sweet little tune. I descended the staircase and began to rummage through my mind for some possible recipes with what I had to work with in the kitchen. Looking and shifting through the cupboards and storage crates, I defiantly had enough leftover dried, pickled or salted foods that held me over for during the winter, but fresh foods were out of the question until the crops would be harvested and the livestock milked, or butchered.

As I looked over my various ingredients an idea popped into mind, and if i had enough of the ingredients i could make what i had in mind. I grabbed the baking supplies necessary for the recipe i knew by heart. I found that had just barely enough to make the dish. It was a pastry that I haven't tasted in what may have been years; it was created by and only known by my family. My father taught it to me and his father taught it to him, and that cycle went back for as long as the members of my family could remember. This recipe would be a surprise for my colorful and food loving house guest and taste into my past. It wasn't exactly dinner time and it was already past noon so this sweet snack would satisfy me and Cupa's hunger. My mind went blank as i was dived into the process of cooking and in what felt like no time, i already mixed the batter and prepared the oven. I felt a soft tugging on my shirt, I jumped a little and turned to see a just as equally startled Cupa. She nervously giggled. I sighed out of relief, "If you were a real Creeper, I would be dead, do you like sneaking up on people like that?" I asked. " S-sorry about that..but I just like the way you react". she giggled then flicked my nose. "Well…just don't do that when I'm handling or doing anything dangerous alright?" i said somewhat sternly, my right eye brow raised. She laughed again while nodding her head, I smirked at her amusement, I shook off my her surprise and she looked over my shoulder. "So what is it that you're making?" She pointed at the bowl containing the pastry to be.

She stared at it, a hungry curiosity emerging on her face. I stepped aside and let her approach and investigate the future meal. She took a small sniff of the aroma of the batter then turned to me. " It smells good..but what is it?" " It's an old family recipe." " What does it taste like?" I smiled and rubbed her hooded head. "You'll find out,once it's done. All I can say is that it it is similar to cake." " It taste like cake!" she practically put her nose up to mine and was staring into my soul, I recoiled nervously and in shock, Cupa must really like sweets. " Y-yeah…it's my family's variation on cake..you can have as much of it as you want when it's done" her eyes gleamed at the prospect and she smiled. "We will have to wait until it's done, so let's just head into the living room until then, do you want anything to drink?" She shook her head no. We convened into the living room where I took a set in my favorite chair. I sat and relaxed watching as Cupa gazed at paintings and browsed through the books on the nearby shelf. She scanned over some of them and intensely stared at the other paintings. "So who made these?" she asked, I stood up and joined by her side as both looked at canvas portrait of oil paintings showing various landscapes.

Each painting had a somewhat unique story behind them and I began to reminisce of my mother who painted them. "My mother painted them, well.. most of them." Cupa looked surprised and curious. "So she painted all of these..?" I looked over them all, most of them were landscapes, but their was one large one that i had left upon the wall but turned over, blocking the painting from view. Cupa as i suspected was intrigued by the covered painting. " Do mind if i look at this one? If that's okay with you?" She asked her hands already reading to flip the paint to reveal its' face. Knowing what is was...i nodded my head yes, and internalized my angst to seeing that particular panting again. It was portrait of young and happy family. "She did, All of them except this one." I pointed at the portrait that Cupa had revealed to my eyes again, after years of keeping it out of sight,we both stared at. It realistically portrayed a well dressed man with short, dark brown hair that was greying at the temples, he had hazel eyes and a goatee. He stood stall and erect ,a silent pride and intelligence gleamed from his eyes and his face locked in confident expression. Next to him where he clasped his hand on was the shoulder of a woman holding a very young child. The woman had a compassionate gaze leering from a pair of blue eyes hidden behind a pair of thin rimmed glasses. Her hair was tied back into a pony-tail and peppered- brunette in coloration, she wore a modest brown dress. Both gleamed with silent pride as they looked at a young child swaddled in the arms of the woman. I softly dragged my fingers on the smooth canvass touching at their faces."Are those your parents?" I dropped my hand and looked down and away from the family portrait to meet Cupa's eyes. "Yes. These were my parents..they hired a painter to make a portrait of them...and me when i was a baby" She looked at them then to me, a nervous almost unsure look in her gaze. " How... long have they been... dead?" she asked with a clear hesitation in her voice. I looked up at the faces of my parents and hung my head looking away and to the side. In this silent motion i relayed an issue that i had not direly told her of with my own words.

"I'm so sorry" she replied in a low whisper. I nodded my head as she hung hers. "So how did they.." I raised a hand, "I'm sorry…but..i don't like talking about it." She nodded politely " I understand..." she said weakly initiating the awkward silence and tension between us. " I'm going to go check on the cake." I left Cupa and she silently continued to gaze at the family portrait. I took out the rounded and smooth surface cake, cutting the moist brown food into eight pieces and made preparations for their serving. I lingered on in the kitchen, holding the plates, staring at the food. The last time I had this dish, it was up until my parents' deaths. Without them around...it seemed pointless to make such food without anyone to share it with. Cupa knew of their deaths for I had implied their fates in my conversations with her before in the week before her arrival to our home, but i had finally revealed it without beating around the bush. The sadness lingering in me now showed that it was one thing to talk of their loss it in the neutral climate of the forest, in a vague sense. But speaking of them in the home…seeing their faces again,it tore me up inside. They built and raised me in this home and putting faces to them, it stirred up emotions that all seemed overwhelming. I had always ignored that painting, tried to forget what I had lost, but with Cupa's innocent presence and questions, my memories of them were reawakened. We had talked very scarcely on the subject matter of each others parents in depth.

I returned with two servings of the pastry for us to eat. She looked back to me, somewhat more cheerful but still had guilty look in her eyes. "Your mom is beautiful…and you look identical to your father…Do you miss them?" I paused slightly as I set down the food on the end table " I do… everyone I knew growing up said that I was replica of my father and that I had my mom's big heart" She smiled, "They sound wonderful..i wish I could have meet them." I smiled softly "Yeah, they were..So" I presented Cupa with a portion of cake. "You ready to eat?" we reconvened and sat in the dining room, the eyes and faces of that portrait were to perturbing for me to enjoy our meal in the informal atmosphere of living room and so i distanced myself from it. Cupa cautiously took forkful and bit it, her eyes lit up and she began to inhale the rest. I pecked at my portion, still feeling the weight of that portrait's gleaming last portrayal of family on my mind. This was partially replaced as i sat amused by Cupa's almost animal like appetite. " _This girl really does love sweets_" i thought silently poking at my portion. I watched her eat another three portions while I still pecked at my own first serving. My mind flashed back to the last day that I had this dish with my family, my mother was laughing, my dad patting my back. Small little tears began to swell under my eyes. My appetite was all but gone now as sadness swelled from my weary heart. Although they had died years ago, the pain still felt fresh, the memories of my deceased parents took hold and I began to weep. Cupa had bolted over and grabbed hold of my shoulders, shock and concern plastered on her face. "Dyllan, are you okay? What's wrong?" I grappled internally to push aside these tears, but my mind and body continued fight against me, as if the two were forcing me to confront what I had tried to ignore or try to forget for the past few years. My chest continued to heat up as spasms of sadness washed over me. Cupa looked on in a confused and distraught taste she appeared as powerless and as helpless as I felt.

Her sympathy and worry displayed themselves more and more as moisture accumulated under her eyes. She then hugged me tightly, "Please, tell me what's wrong...Why are you crying?" she said in sad, sympathetic tone. I looked up to her, she almost looked like she were about to cry herself. I must have looked pitiful, her sympathy made me only feel guilty for making her worry for me this much. I cried in her arms until the tears stopped flowing, only to surge back again and again. She broke the embrace and looked at me again. " Why are you crying?" I clenched my fist by my side, frustration rising as I tried to rationalize and emote what I was feeling. I stood up and walked away from Cupa and left the dining room abruptly, I didn't want to confront her about the issue. I walked silently, rudely blowing off Cupa in a fast pace and made my way into the living room. With my fist clenched I stared at the family portrait. Small tears born from both sadness and anger began to run down my checks as I looked at their happy faces. I reached out to them in vain; all I felt was the canvas and the trembling of my hand. "_Why? Why did you have to leave me!Why now of all times is this happening?_ " I screamed in my head. I nmy mental anguish I had hardly noticed Cupa's hand on my shoulder; she stood next to me, crying as well. I collapsed onto my knees still staring at the painting, Cupa knelt down beside me and embraced me.

"I've been alone…so long … the family cake...Looking at those faces again..I.." I stuttered before i broke into more tears and buried my face into my hands. " I just didn't want to live knowing that i was alone…I tried to bottle it up and keep down all the things that reminded me of them.." Another bout of tears was shed. Cupa said nothing and shed tears of her own at my own plight, she held me tightly as the pent up angst cleared itself from my soul. I didn't resent her for bringing these emotions to the surface by revealing that one image i had to remember them by. The only person I could blame for this, was myself for having held back my sorrow for too long. I propped myself back up and with the Cupa's help, she escorted me back to my chambers. I sat silently on the bed, she still remained by my side worry and moisture still lingering in her amber eyes. As the last remnants of my sorrow exited i exhaled slowly and let my body relax. I looked her in eyes briefly, she grabbed my hand, I looked to the floor boards. " I miss them.. I've tried to ignore it... tried so hard to push it aside." she leaned in closure and her hand tightened around my own. "I've known they've been dead, but I just couldn't accept that they were truly gone or that I would be alone." The look in her eyes and the face she made showed that she understood, it was a shared pain for the both us. Her eyes shined with a compassion that understood my plight.

We sat on the bed in silence, even when the clock showed that it was night time she didn't stir or move away from me. She kept herself firmly anchored by my side, she helped to ease me my pain and for that i was grateful beyond words. The last drops of my sadness seeped away under the warmth of her embrace and compassion."Thank you," I said softly, she smiled contently seeing that I had recovered, at this point I was expecting her to leave, but instead she closed her eyes, rested her head on my shoulder and I felt her lean her body weight onto mine. Before I knew it she was asleep and her embrace on me still as strong as when she was awake. I smiled, then with finesse of genteel breeze I played with some locks of her orange-red hair in my fingers. I carried her into her own room and tucked her in, I removed her hood of her jacket, allowing her head to make bare contact with her pillows. Her face looked serene and peaceful as she tossed about to make herself comfortable on her new bed. Somewhat hesitant I placed my palm on her cheek and felt her warmth, and with my thumb wiped away the residual moisture of her own tears. "Thank you," I whispered aloud. With that I quietly departed her room and returned to my own and drifted off to sleep in my own bed, with a clearer heart, conscious and a heightened appreciation and affection for my orange-haired friend.

End of Chapter 5.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Scars

With my eyes still adjusting to light and my body still relaxed, waking up this morning at sunrise seemed more the peaceful than other times. The slow moving arms on the clock of the wall read a quarter past seven and I could hear the same familiar sound of birds chirping as the sun's rays entered through the window. I felt, far more refreshed this morning and a sense of wholeness to my soul and reinvigorated purpose. Most times when I did wake up, I never felt eager or relaxed to greet the day only a hesitant grudge to my chores and my lonely existence. Last night's out pour must have done wonders for me, for being able to release those emotions lifted a heavy burden on my conscious. I didn't feel like leaving the inviting confines of the warm, comfortable bed and rolled over to my side facing the space beyond the confines of my bed. As I continued to awaken I felt limbs not my own wrapped around me and a soft breathing and warmth radiating from a body resting by my side.

Surprise and fear spiked in my head and chest. I slowly craned my head to see who or what was lying next to me. The body was hidden under the covers with only a hooded head, and orange-red hair , closed eyes and freckles exposed. Resting on one of my pillows was sleeping a Cupa. My face heated up, my face fully red and my eyes were now the size of dinner plates, I craned my neck back to look at the wall. Then I took another look at her again, then back to the wall then to her. I repeated this process two more times just in case my mind wasn't deceiving me and as an added measure, I pinched my own arm. She scooted closer to me and her limbs wrapped around me more snugly . Normally a guy would have appreciated this surprise to awake to, but for me, having known that I personally carried and tucked into her own bed, in her own room, raised some serious questions.

She must have slipped in when I was sleeping, that was the only logical explanation..Either that or Cupa is really part Creeper. I then saw that my door was open and through that I saw that the door to her own room was also open, I sighed silently to myself and shook my head. "_Note to self, rig up some form of locking mechanism for the doors_."i mentally said. I continued to lay there, trapped between the limbs of Cupa and my own fears of the repercussions of waking her up, to also share in this awkward moment. She yawned and began to stretch, I admit it was cute and she did do this before, but that was out in the forest when she slept next to me, and i could overlook those incidents on the grounds that we had to share our sleeping space and felt some sympathy for her. But this was little too much of an invasion of privacy, especially since it was in my own room..in my own bed.

Her eyelids fluttered as she slowly began to awake, and she retracted her limbs from me and rose up with a yawn. She looked around, her hair was messy and her hood slipped down to cover half her face. With some more yawns she looked down to me, as i slowly got up myself. Her eyes still hazy she slowly began to notice my presence and her own eyes grew more alert with consciousness. Surprisingly, she didn't look surprised or embarrassed at all, she was looking content actually as she readjusted her hood. Her disposition threw me off and I sat there confused "Hi…" I said awkwardly with my hand raised. Her face blushed and we stared at each other in silence. She became more alert and frantically looked around her surroundings. Her eyes widened, clarity and focus in her vibrant eyes elated to the realization of her present situation. She then gazed back to me, an embarrassed blush now flooded on her face. " I..ugh..you see..i just.." Cupa said hesitantly, obviously flustered, before laughing nervously. I raised an eyebrow, and plainly looked at her, my fearful anticipation was gone now and replaced by curiosity. She shrugged and put on childish face, the same kind of feign innocence that a child puts on, when they are confronted on something bad they did. I sighed aloud and patted her head. I couldn't stay mad at her, besides she did do this before in the forest. So why chastise her now about it, and in small way beneath my surprise i actually enjoyed waking up to her peaceful face. " Just answer me one thing." " O-okay" she stuttered in response. " Why? Were you not comfortable in your own bed?" " No, that bed was very comfortable..it's just…I didn't feel right leaving you alone." _She didn't want to leave me alone?_

"But why?" "Well...it really troubled me to see you in that much pain last night, and you had been so compassionate and understanding to me...I just couldn't abide to sleep in my own room, knowing that you were suffering in anyway." I was touched, for after I tucked her in, I had already recovered, but she persisted anyway to comfort me. I smiled and sat silently in the wake of her kind words and her compassion. She glimpsed at me, darting her eyes away showing brief portions of her ever reddening face. "Thank you, but next time just asks permission okay." I said earnestly and in low tone before giving her a hug from behind. "I just wanted to return the favor for what you did for me the first time we meet…plus." She turned around in my grasp and buried herself into my chest with her own hug. " I always sleep better when I'm with you." She said in muffled voice. I smiled even more and patted her head. We sat there on the bed until both our stomachs began to gurgle out of huger. "We should probably eat breakfast" I commented, and with that we cut this bonding moment we were sharing. We departed the room and made our way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, and clean up the dishes of the cake we had failed to completely consumed last night. I would have to make a hearty meal for me and Cupa, and it would be large meal, for i would be working most of day to complete my daily set of chores.

I pulled out all the stops for this breakfast, or at least for what I could make or use with the ingredients at my disposal. Breakfast would consist of salted ham steaks, grits, biscuits, plenty of gravy and porridge. We even ate the leftover slices of cake that we had not finished last night. Cupa helped with the cooking process, or at least tried to, much like with Chess she was determined to learn how to cook but went headlong and reckless. She did her best though, and never once did I scold her or display any negative reactions to her overcooking, spilling or burning the food. I taught her along way as we finished preparing meal and i kept her from getting upset in her innocent failure in cooking with smiles, encouraging words and pats on head. The table in the dining room was set, the chandelier went unused for the room was illuminated by the morning light in the windows. So we sat down to our meal and were basked in the rays of the morning sun. The sound of birds echoed softly through the walls as we ate our modest meal. It was a serene morning like any other except I was accompanied to my morning meal with a dear friend, which made the food taste all the more better, well that and the gravy. I made a mental checklist of what I would need to accomplish as I cut into the salted pork slices slathered in gravy: 1. Pull weeds in the gardens. 2. Chop fire wood. 3: Feed the dogs and livestock. 4. Milk the cows 5: If the fields are dry, water the crops 6: Do a load of laundry. Those were the top tasks that I would need to complete.

I mulled over the tasks in my head silently and Cupa tore into her own portion of the breakfast , we had both started consuming on her go. It was always entertaining to watch her eat, yet despite her appetite she maintained a healthy and radiant figure. She finished the meal first with a burp, to which she laughed at my surprise to hear such a sound come from her lips. Her face became more solemn though afterwards. " Listen…about yesterday…if I had known that you'd react so badly to that painting I or that it would bring up bad memories for you...i never would have asked to look at it." I nodded slowly ." No, you don't need to apologize." I gave a reassuring smile. " You helped me come to terms with it.. But I am sorry for making you worry like that." Her face regained it's bright exuberance. She sat and watched me I finished up my breakfast, my gullet was stuffed heavy as I cleaned up my portion of the meal .Content, Cupa relaxed into her chair and rubbed her stomach then let out a blissful sigh. "At the rate you eat food I'm surprised you can taste any of it" . "Well I'm always eager to eat anything _you _cooked!" she put emphasis on the "you", a clear cut complainant that I appreciated, " Well you helped in making it, so give yourself some credit." She nodded in agreement. " I think sharing a meal with some always make any food taste better." She said sentimentally, she started leaning forward on table, hands on her cheeks and winked at me. " You were thinking about something weren't you?" she asked

I nodded yes, she was quite adept at reading me. "As a matter of fact I was, I could use some help around the place, and your involvement is entirely voluntary. You can help, That is, if you're not too lethargic from that meal you ate?" she simply jumped up and walked over, " So what do we need to do?" I explained the chore list, her moth went agape and she looked at me in disbelief. "You do all of that.. all on your own? Every day?" "Well, yeah. I've had to do it, I live alone." I said placidly and plainly. " For me it's just the norm. What? Did you never do any chores?" "Well yeah, but I always had help when I did it around the house." she responded back. " You defiantly need the help though and i won't take no for answer!." she said. She then put her hands her hips and exuded a confident displayed as she enthusiastically offered her assistance. We cleaned the dishes and I poured some water into two large closeable jugs for us, and packed some field rations before we'd head out. I changed into a light blue colored shirt and shorts and retrieved gloves for the both of us.

Cupa, despite my advice, adamantly refused to leave her jacket inside, but she did agree to change her clothing after my sincere badgering got to her. I was curious as to why she didn't want to remove her jacket but passed on issue for the sake of time. She relented to compromise and changed her shorts and shirt to lighter weight materials and colors, but still wore her heavy green jacket. I overlooked it, my hopes being that she would take off her jacket in due time after working. The field work was the first to get done and it was the more tedious of the chores. I showed Cupa which plants to pull, scrap away with a trowel or cut and which ones to leave behind And we got to work. We spent all but maybe an hour in the fields removing the sparse weeds. The temperature was warm but nothing to unbearable, for me at least. Cupa still wearing her green jacket was sweating from the work in the field, I again insisted that she would take off her jacket ,she polity refused and simply drank some water from her jug and weakly bit into a stick of jerky.

Helping chop wood had clearly exhausted her and she took a breather and leaned against the solidly stacked wood pile as I wiped away the sweat on my own forehead, I continued to insist that she'd take off her jacket to help cool down and again she shot it down. "Please just take your jacket off, you're overheating and you've overexerting, You'll get heatstroke if you keep working with that jacket on!" "No… I...I'm fine really." She rasped adamantly. "Are you sure? You can Go back into the house,whenever you want or at least just take off the jacket." "No...I...Want to help you finish your work...It's the least I can do". Seeing that she wouldn't give in, I reluctantly dropped the conversation and we continued the work. As we progressed Cupa's condition still deteriorated, I kept asking her to take a break or to take off her jacket to help her cool off. Again and again she refused and pushed herself to help me, I felt all the more responsible for her condition and despite my pleas she still didn't relent to such a simple and beneficial action.

By mid afternoon we had completed all the outdoor chores, all that we would have to do was a load of laundry, our current sweat stained clothes would also be thrown into a neat pile, I took a sniff of my own shirt and recoiled. " How…are…you..not..tired?" Cupa rasped out, while I helped to shoulder her as she walked with me. She felt weak and her head swayed and her eyes were barley being kept open. "Well, I'm well conditioned, I've had to do this on my own for years now.." but as I was talking and while we were walking back from the fields, Cupa's weight shifted collapsed from me, her face was fully flushed, her breathing soft, shallow and rapid. "Cupa! Cupa! Please wake up!" I yelled as I gently shook her and propped her up in my arms. I removed a glove from my right hand and laid it upon her forehead, she was burning up. It was heatstroke and I cursed myself, i knew this would happen and felt like an ass in this moment for not trying harder to prevent it for her. "_Damn it! you stubborn idiot why didn't you listen to me!"_ I screamed inside my head.

I ran, heart racing and panic stricken, carrying her unconscious frame to the shore of the closest lake. "I've already lost two people I've loved; I'm not going to lose you too!" i yelled aloud. I laid her out on the shoreline, and began to remove her clothes, the less layering she had on, the quicker she'd cool down. I muscled through my embarrassment to seeing her panties and bra and the very brief look of her bare skin. I focused my gaze strictly on her face which was still flushed. With her in cradled in arms, I walked into the cool, waist deep water of lake and lowered her frame into the cooling liquid. The water soaked into her under garments and her orange-red hair fanned out in the water, I checked her fore head again after a few minutes, her body temperature was cooling down but she was still unconscious. I sighed somewhat out of relief and I calmed down considerably. I slowly removed her from the water. I then felt an odd texture in my right hand as it was supporting her upper back.

It felt like a narrow and long patch of rough skin. I looked to the water still disturbed by the drips coming off from Cupa's body. As the ripples calmed, the surface reflected her bare back with a mirror like quality. Running down her back from where my right hand rested, was a large scar. My eyes widened and a new shock overcame my mind as I intensely starred at it through the water's reflection .I slowly drug my fingers over the length of the rough and discolored scar tissue. It was perhaps a finger width's wide and it ran down at diagonal angle from her right shoulder blade to where her left kidney was. "_She didn't want me to see this.._ " I thought feeling somewhat guilty for nagging her to take off her jacket. I stood fixed in that water, shocked by this revelation, " _She must have been trying to hide this. It's no wonder she didn't want to take off her jacket._" I walked slowly from the cool embrace of lake and up to the shore, still perplexed. As the image and feel of the scar's texture entered my mind, another series of questions about this girl and her life came to life in my head.

End of Chapter 6


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Painful Histories.

With a perplexed and weary heart, I carried her still unconscious frame into the house. Upon seeing me, even my dogs stopped mid-stride to greet me, they could sense my angst and backed away, their ears and eyes down and averted from my direction . I felt nothing but guilt and anger at myself for this entire occurrence, her safety was the only thing that occupied my thoughts and distracted me from staring inappropriately at Cupa's in her under dressed state or the sensation of her scar underneath my finger tips. I kept my eyes on her face, anxious to see her wake up. Her cheeks and forehead returned to their normal color and I checked her forehead again with my right palm. I sighed out of relief to feel that she was back to an appropriate body temperature. I checked her pulse while I methodically went up the stair case, it was stable. After laying her out on her bed, with her feet elevated, I retrieved her clothes from the lake's shore and threw them in the laundry room. I kept her jacket and placed it next to her, at the end of her bed, I laid out a fresh set of clothes and her shoes for her to change into once she awoke

I dried her off the best that I could, but their was still residual moisture on the bedspread from her soak in the lake. I went and prepared some drinking water for her and placed a damp cloth on her head. I pulled chair up to her bed-side, doing the laundry could wait. Seeing her like this simply compounded my feelings of guilt, anger at myself, and a fear that she may not wake up. I mentally yelled at myself, I felt like a complete ass and a deep guilty, even thought it was her decision to keep her jacket on. _" I must have come off as so insensitive to her..i guess this how she felt when she brought up my parents in their portrait._" I thought to myself. I clasped her hand, it was still warm and light to the touch and a sign of her still being in this world, came through when I felt her grip my hand back. Beneath the angst, I knew there would be an awkward situation to come, once she awoke and discovered her lack of clothing. But in that moment, I didn't care...all I wanted to see was her amber eyes open up and with that, dispel all my worries. I remained by her side for an unknown length of time until she would slowly awake.

Her eyes were open but they were dreary. I felt my heart leap and I almost wanted to hug her out of joy, but refrained from doing so. She looked at me with a slow turn of her head, "W-what happened?" she asked weakly. "You had a heatstroke..but you're going to be fine now." I said softly and with relief in my voice. She tried to sit up; I softly put on hands her shoulders and gently pushed her back. "No, you're still very weak, you need to rest." I said before removing the damp cloth from her head. She submitted and laid back down, she still stared at me with her droopy eyes. "Do you think you can drink some water?" I asked. She nodded and I assisted her with her beverages, three cups of water later, she closed her eyes again and fell back to sleep. I covered her up with a light blanket and opened a window to let in a breeze. I remained by her side, still holding her hand. I only broke away from her presence to change my clothes or use the bathroom.

I partially began to nod off while sitting in chair, but kept awake to see her awaken again. Maybe an hour later, she opened up her eyes with yawn, the spark of consciousness and coherence emanated from her amber eyes. She noticed my grip on her hand and she blushed slightly, she didn't let go until I did. She scanned the room then laid her vision upon me, she smiled and I returned it. But then came the situation that I already foresaw. She noticed that she was only dressed in her under-wire and panties…both our faces turned crimson and she immediately covered herself with the bed spread. "Get out! Get out! Get Out!" she yelled in an embarrassed tone. I complied and stumbled out of the room, closing the door behind me. I somewhat giggled at the whole debacle...But the somberness of the scenario re-entered my thoughts. I knew should would need some time alone, and I would let her have her space. I went downstairs and prepared a small meal and some tea for us for when she was ready to face me. I sat in the foyer for a few minutes, just thinking of what I could possible say to re-mediate this situation and how it may have looked to her.

The situation became all the more tense now that she was awake, and I still had questions, not to mention trying to explain how she ended up without any clothes. I would have to dispel her of these of these concerns with as much finesse as my curious mind would muster. I walked to her door, with some reluctance weighing down my feet. I knocked upon it with my free hand, the otehr was precariously holding the tray of food and tea . " Cupa, can I come in?" there was long silence to my request, and just before i turned to leave out of failure, she weakly replied. "Y-yes...You can come in." I swallowed down some of my fear and entered into the room silently. She had changed into the long blue pants and white shirt I provided, although her shirt was covered by her jacket of course, and she left her shoes on the floor. She sat on the bed, with her arms wrapped around her legs, tucking them up her chest.

I put the tray down next to her and sat down by her side, my back facing her, I didn't have the resolve to look her in the eyes, which when I saw them on the way in, were expressing sorrow. I sighed again, and tentatively placed a hand upon her shoulder. "I'm sorry…I had treat you for heatstroke...And I didn't try anything...If you're mad...I'll understand" i said as I hung my head and prepared for the worst. She moved under my hand and scooted next to me, facing the same direction as I did. She reached out and took my hand. I was shocked; I thought she'd slap me for seeing her in her underwear and bra. "No, I'm not mad…thanks for taking care of me.." she said weakly. Some relief took hold only to be replaced by a new tension. "You...saw it?" she asked sheepishly,her hand somewhat trembled..I grew more somber. "Yes...i did.." I knew the question I wanted to ask would lack any tact, but it would necessary. "Did you think that If I saw it..that I would think less or differently of you? Is that why didn't want to take if off when we were working..even when you were on the verge of collapsing?" She said nothing but nodded, I looked to see small tears run down her cheeks and she looked back to me with face wrought with pain.

" I don't like to remember…and I don't like to talk about it..it just..too painful.." she said weakly, as her voice become choked with tears. I took he into embrace to try and comfort her, this scar truly must have haunted her and it must have been a dark time for her when she got it, perhaps it also had to do with the loss of her parents. Thinking of her own anguish and her possible painful and troubled past..i thought of my own. I felt some tears of my own emerge from the sympathy of my heart. As I felt Cupa tremble and cry in my arms, a remedy to help her came into my mind. "_Sometimes, in order to alleviate someone else and their scars or history..you have to share your own.._" I brought her closer to my frame, and rested my chin upon her shoulder, my mouth at her ear level. "If it's too painful to take about..i won't ask any questions..That you wouldn't ask me..." i whispered. She paused in her crying and looked up from my chest, tears still streaming from her eyes. "I've seen your scar…it's only fair that I tell about mine.." I said calmly. She looked upon me with some confusion but soon a face of understanding arose. She shifted away from my embrace and sat beside me, holding my right hand. I exhaled and steeled myself for the memories I would have to revisit in my sharing of my history and my hidden scars with Cupa.

I looked her in the eyes, then I closed my eyes the images of my parents..flashed and struck at my heart like swords. I felt my lower lip tremble before I could speak. "I lost my mother when I was sixteen..it was first days of summer, she was so vibrant and happy before she fell ill." The memories of her bed-ridden, weak and pale caused my eyes to swell up with tears. " W-we tried every home remedy we could think of..but nothing worked..even the local hospital in the nearby village of Sigonella..the doctors were baffled and said that they had never seen an illness like it before. They naturally had to quarantine her..for everyone's safety." I paused as I wiped away a few of the ever growing tears, Cupa clenched onto my hand sympathetically, her eyes watery as well, as she looked upon me. " Even when we could visit her, they had her on so many drugs..just to keep her stable and to prevent her from screaming from the pain…it.." I cupped my mouth and my lips trembled as I remembered how awful she looked, wasting away in that hospital bed. " She wasn't my mom anymore, or my dad's wife..she was just…a vegetable." I paused again to regain my coherence and Cupa embraced me from the side. "She died..two weeks after we admitted her..We weren't even by her side when she passed...but... at least she found peace." I exhaled again and felt my body shudder at the memory.

Cupa then embraced me from the side letting go of my hand. "What happened to your father?" she asked with a sympathetic tone. I nodded my head and re-wrapped my embrace around her. "He died two years later…the hospital was gracious and understanding enough to lower their repayment and extend the payment dates...my mother's treatment...required a copious amount of medication and drugs. Which were not easy to make or procure..So the price of our repayment, even with the lowered rates…were still high for us. We couldn't make ends meet having to add those payments with my part time job or my dad's regular job..so my dad took up a job with a local mining company..The pay was good...it covered the medical bills and he had enough leftover to put me through school...but" I shuddered as the memory of his demise came to light again my mind. "It was incredibly risky..." memories of our fights over me wanting to join him, flashed before my eyes. "I wanted to help..i was of age and could join him and help make more money and speed up the repayment…he forbade it and forced me to continue with my schooling when I was living temporarily with my god parents."

I laughed somewhat as more tears came from my eyes.." The last time we talked…before he left for work..he dropped me off at my godparents to study..we had huge fight… about the same issue of me wanting to help in the mines..I was so angry at him..I can still see how hurt he looked..when i was yelling at him" I laughed and cried at the same time. " I-I wouldn't even hear about what happened until hours later..i was in the guest room going over some arithmetic when my godparents stepped in..they both were crying…" I ceased my crying chuckle and simply began to weep. " My dad..and four other people..Died in a cave-in..The shaft they were working in..collapsed..they couldn't even recover the bodies or their belongings..all they could give me and the other families were copies of their I.D. tags.." My weeping continued for a few minutes as the memories washed over and replayed in my mind. Cupa looked at me in disbelief and was shedding tears of her own, she tightened her embrace of me, she was trying so hard to comfort me. "I..had..no idea..I'm so sorry " she weakly murmured in her own tear choked voice from my chest. "W-why..would you tell me this? Why put yourself through that anguish of remembering?" she asked as she raised her head up and looked me in eyes, I wiped away the last remnants of my tears and wiped away some of hers. "I don't want you to feel like that you should hide your pain from me..i don't want you to suffer alone..or bear a silent burden... i want you be able to trust me." I said solemnly. She nodded and wiped away some more tears of hers and became much more composed but still wore a pained expression." If you don't want to talk about it now or ever..I'll understand..But I just want you to know that you can if you want." I said in a reassuring manner.

She broke her embrace on me but still remained leaning on my side, she then grabbed my hand. She looked at me deep in the eyes, a pained but resolved look gleamed in them she then spoke. "It was maybe just under a week after my 15th birthday" she grabbed the fabric of her jacket with her free hand. "This was their gift to me...my mother had made it herself." She smiled; she was clearly reminiscing of a happy portion of her life. "It was just getting into winter..But even during winter I always thought the snow and sleet was pretty. Looking back...I realize now that my family was poor...but they always kept me feed, warm and they always showed so much love towards me. We were always welcomed and though highly of by the people of Tacipe even if my parents were frugal. I loved living there...I always thought of it as my one and only home." Her smile began disappear and I could hear and see the tears begin to accumulate in her voice as she continued to talk. "The village was bringing in its finale harvest of lumber and fish for the season... my dad had gone out to the market to get some cod for dinner.. I was at home with my mom doing some light chores…" she paused and she tighten her grip on my hand "Perhaps twenty minutes later…we heard explosions and screams…we could see through the windows..that the village was burning in the distance… we were so scared..we wanted to go there to try and get my father..but.." she paused.

" But waiting for us.. on the other side of door and actually staring through the windows…were a group of Creepers. My mom hid me in the basement and told me not leave there or to take this take jacket off, at the time my mother and father both told me that it would protect me from mobs so long as I wore it." Cupa tears became more prevalent and she trembled as she shifted herself further into my frame and trembled. " I didn't want to leave her side..I wanted help her fight and go find my father..i was yelling at her..she slapped me and gave me..a hug. She said that she would do everything in her power to keep me safe and that she would go find my father..She said all this…my mom said all this with tears in her eyes.. She knocked me out somehow and put me in the basement" She sniffled, wiping away tears with her left hand

"I-I didn't know that would be the last time that I would see them" again she paused to collect herself "I couldn't hear anything...There was no sound, I had to shove my way through the basement door…it was blocked by rubble and debris from my destroyed home..everything..i felt like throwing up looking at the place.. my home..the place of my most cherished memories, was destroyed or burnt up from the Creeper's explosions." Her crying became heavy and I stroked her head and rocked with her. " I looked everywhere around the debris and rubble for my mom.. and I couldn't find her..i could more clearly see the red hue of the village burning in the distance.. "Cupa face was flushed and drowning in her tears and I shared her pain in my own heart. " I ran to the village… I knew that my mom would have gone there to find my dad...I was greeted by huge craters, burning or blown up houses…and..bodies..everything was destroyed." She paused and wept violently and I did all I could to comfort her as I shed my own tears to the story she was telling. A few minutes of this passed and she became more coherent to continue.

"I tried to find them.. I looked for hours...shifting through all those bodies...calling their names.. looking for survivors …I was so scared.. I couldn't find any other people…except for one..he looked familiar but was badly hurt..and paranoid.. He snuck up from behind…with a sword...he must have been riled up when trying to defend himself in the village. He must have mistaken me for a Creeper…I can still remember his face... His eyes were partially blinded by blood coming from his forehead…He was full of so much anger...when he…after he did strike I turned around and saw the horror and surprise on his face when he saw that I was a human. He just stood there as I struggled to run away." She trembled in my grasp, the sight of her scar flashed into my mind. "I ran for I don't how long before I passed out from the pain and blood loss. After that it goes blank" before I could ask she answered my silent question of how she survived. "I awoke some time later in a cave on the outskirts, I felt so sore…and weak...but I was alive. Someone was kind enough to leave me with some food, a back pack of supplies, change of clothes and healing potions. Someone had dressed my wounds. There was a note tied to the potion's bottles explaining when and how much to use."

"I stayed in that cave, until my wound could fully heal… but I couldn't sleep at all… the only thing I could think of was my parents and the destruction of the village and my home. I also felt these eerie sensation that someone or something was watching me…I spent so long just lying there crying …It took two days...until the wound finally closed but was still at risk to reopen with the help of the healing potions. I went back to village to do a finale search. The potions worked and I was able to take the bandages off a week later. I stayed near the village and kept on searching and using up what I could find to survive...but I had to move on after i spent two weeks there. I roamed the country side, scavenged and foraged what I could..and even though I hate to admit it…I stole just enough food from the local villages during the winters to survive..i always felt guilty doing that..and didn't feel I could trust anyone after that man from my own home village attacked me…I was too racked with grief to seek out anyone's help." She hugged me again and it was nearly rib cracking. "I'm so sorry..." was the only response I could muster in response to the heart wrenching tale I heard.

We sat silently for what may have been hours, still holding onto each other as the last remnants of her sorrow seeped away. As the pain faded...I actually felt somewhat elated to have released those pent up emotions and to have her confide this pain in me in healthy manner, she trusted me and allowed me to help her confront her demons. Cupa looked to me, her face showed signs that she also was relieved of her hidden emotional burden. " It must have been tough..I'm sorry" I said. " It was…and I still have nightmares about those days...the sleepless nights..Feeling like something was watching me. I know I shouldn't be scared anymore...and that I should have moved on and accepted that my parents are gone…but..it was just too painful." she said softly " Is that why you were shivering and whimpering on that night? You were having a nightmare?" I asked, she nodded yes, her mood began to change and her face lit up from a positive thought, dispelling the last signs of her anguish, she was in a better mood now and I was glad to see her like this.

She sheepishly smiled while looking at me . "When you first meet me and held me that night, it reminded me of something that I thought I lost." "What did it remind you of?" I asked . She batted her head away and twirled her hair. "Whenever I had a nightmare or couldn't sleep, either one my parents would always hold me tightly, keep me warm, rock me. They held me in such a way that I could hear their heart beats. It always made me feel safe and secure..and I almost forgotten what that felt like…well..that is until I meet you." She took me by surprise by quickly placing her own ear against my chest and closed her eyes. She sighed contently, with this it looked as though any previous pains she had were now tension that had a strangle hold on us before, was replaced by mutual peace of mind and a clear burden lifted off her shoulders. We sat relaxed on the bed.

"I always loved that sound" she said sweetly, commenting on my heart beat. The moment was heartwarming and comforting, the built up sadness and angst in us before, was replaced by an air of silence after our expositions. Cupa still sat close and leaned on me, her body was relaxed and her shoulders were drooped. At the moment I simply did what felt natural and appropriate ,I began to stroke hooded her head. She turned to me with a face of surprise, her amber eyes again piercing right into my soul. "Feel better now?" I asked, she nodded her head with small smile. "Thanks, I feel much better now…but Dyllan?" "Yes?" She let go of me and swayed back and forth, she darted her eyes away with a blush " C-c-an I stay in your room tonight..Again...w-with you?" she then clasped her palms onto her redden face. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...I shouldn't have asked you that!" she cried out, embarrassed. She shook her head side to side with closed eyes, acting out of embarrassment. My face was as flushed as hers. I was shocked to the proposition, but I did tell her that if she wanted to, all she would have to do was ask. If she could work up the courage to ask...And confide unto me, her secrets and hidden pain..i could let her share a large bed with me. It would be plain rude of me to deny such a request after the moment and secrets we shared. I exhaled and smirked. I patted her head. "Sure, but for now, we should eat the food i prepared, the tea is already cold" she smiled at my approval and dropped the embarrassment. She then hugged me again like a stuffed animal. "Thank you..." she whispered.

End of Chapter 7


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Musings of the Heart.

"So I stroke here?" Cupa asked slightly confused. " Yes, but not too fast or hard you'll lose control." "Okay… but please, stop staring at me..You're making me nervous.." Cupa said with a excitable expression. I chuckled slightly. "Sorry I'm just curious about your progress... Hold on your stroking it too roughly!" she recoiled "S-sorry...so like this, is this better?" she asked. " No, you got to be more gentle with the strokes but hold on with a gentle grip. I clasped her hand and guided it with mine. "See, smooth and steady strokes...that's how you use a paint brush" Her eyes lit up as realization struck and she began to paint more effectively. The once blank canvas was beginning to fill with the bright colors of her image of a hillside, forest and sunrise. "What do you think so far?" She asked, I looked over the painting in progress. "Yes...That's good...Now what color would you use next for this painting? What color would really bring some contrast with the tree line?" She put the end of brush against her cheek as the landscape painting was coming to life. She showed a face of inspiration and dabbed her brush into green and yellow before painting again. "You're doing great, just keep going and remember to keep the brush strokes steady…is there anything you need?" I asked as i walked away from her and entered the doorway of her room. She looked up from the canvas " Uh…no..I'm good.." her pause in-between her words, was uncharacteristic of her, I raised and eyebrow and smirked slyly. "Really? Is there nothing at all you need?" I asked in a sly and curious tone.

She puffed out her cheeks into a pout and crossed her arms. "N-n-no...I just... it's nothing" she blurted out with a redden face. I slightly chuckled to myself and shook my head silently, her pouting always had the opposite of their intended effect and simply amused me."Well..if you need anything just holler, I'll be downstairs working on lunch." " Okay..uh..Dyllan?" I paused midway through the door to her question "Yes?" She dropped her pouting face, it was apprehensive. " I..ugh..ugh..well.." she was stuttering again and began to poke her index fingers against each other and darted her face from my gaze. "Are you okay?" I asked. "Y-y-yeah..i just..I'm kinda hungry..so.." I smirked and we meet gazes, she put on a weak smile. " Don't worry, I'll make sure you get a good portion." I said with a reassuring smile. Her smile extended and oddly she tried to hide herself into her jacket's hood, like a turtle retracting their head into their shell. She nodded slowly. "T-t-thanks..." She weakly stuttered, a blush still plastered on her face. I left her to continue her little artistic project. Her change in behavior was interesting; she was once more confident and around me, but now, she was sheepish and shy whenever i got close to her, it was like being around a giddy school girl. I felt that i had to compensate for her previous bubbly personality, by becoming more sociable and less taciturn myself. I also took note to the burgeoning of my own feelings and a shift in my views of my orange haired companion.

She had discovered her interest in the arts after she went exploring in one of the storage rooms and found my mother's art supplies, five days ago. For the last four days, she had been drawing and sketching ever since, only today was she trying her hand at painting. She practiced whenever she had free time, she would doodle in her room or in foyer after a game of chess. Whenever i' would pop in to check in on her, she would always show me her work. I would give the same advice that my mother gave me when she taught me elementary art lessons and Cupa always listed with great heed. When i did give her my advice or compliments, she would become far more giddy, and show signs of being self conscious of her abilities, by trying to play down her pieces. I put forth more finesse and gave only supportive criticism, she always showed silent pride in her work and she always shared her better works with me. It seemed like only yesterday since Cupa's heat stroke and our heart to heart chat, it was truly a deeply bonding experience for us and it reflected in our changed dispositions. Although it only seemed like a short time ago, the reality was that it had actually been two weeks since that heartfelt afternoon. We would discover more and more about each other, during that time, notably some drastic personal changes in myself. I rediscovered my talent for cooking while having to feed not only myself but please Cupa's universal taste buds, along the way i dabbled once again into my bookish fascination with writing poetry, a hobby of mine that i kept under wraps. I discovered that Cupa was a bit of a book worm and loved to read and often read before bed. Aside from reading and helping me with my tasks, Cupa would always practice her artistic side and shared her more unique pieces of artwork. Many of which were very good sketches or drawings ranging from portraits, creatures, landscapes and she always appreciated my approval and complements.

Even more curious though, during these last two weeks together, was her sleeping patterns, she had her own bedroom and i gave great leeway for her own space,but she rarely slept in her own room. I would wind up almost every morning feeling her embrace around me and see her sleeping face, as soon as she woke up and saw were she was, she would blush and awkwardly leave with a nervous giggle. She would leave me still in my bed perplexed and blushing. This behavior was an odd contrast to how she behaved during the daylight hours, she would spend as much time around me as she could. On some occasions she asked my permission to join me in my bed ,but on the most part she swooped in on her own accord. Her pervasive entrance and sneaking into my room to share my bed..to cuddle up to me..without my permission, was both doting, tender and awkward. This was a phenomenon that at first I allowed out of sympathy, but now have come to enjoy and actually cherish her presence with me on a normally lonely bed. The way i saw it..this was her coping mechanism and in doing this, she could sleep far better and not suffer from nightmares. It was awkward at first to accept this new trend of having someone share my bed, especially someone of the opposite gender, but in spite of this, in a vicarious manner, i felt far better rested and relaxed in the mornings when i would awake to her warm frame pressed against my own.

She began to wear her jacket less and less and even discarded it while helping me with the chores outside. Even with her skittish morning demeanor she always stayed by my side in the daylight hours, her new timidness only showed when i was very close to her or when i tried looking her in the eyes. Despite that, she still radiated confidence and seemed to display less and less concern for her body image or fear of revealing her scar. Another interesting and puzzling change in her behavior that I took notice to, were brief but rather, intimate one sided embraces. On occasion after a day of work, or if i just felt like relaxing, I took small cat naps in the living room. Normally doing this would have been impossible, but with the recent adding of Cupa's help, i completed my chores earlier and was left with free time on my hands. I would nap occasionally after cooling down from a hard day's work, writing my private poems or reading one of the many books available on the bookshelves residing in the living room. When I rested my eyes or was semi-asleep, Cupa would test to see if was awake and if she felt that was asleep, she would then sit on my lap and snuggle up to me. I would sneak some looks to see her face was mere hair lengths from my own, and her eyes had a different gleam in them. I felt her gaze or even stare at me while rested my eyes or was semi-conscious, her behavior in those moments were direct contrasts to the other times she looked at me with her amber eyes in her skittish glances. When first started interacting in the forest, she had the gaze and look in her eyes of a person who saw me as a curiosity when , which then shifted to seeing me as trusted friend. Her eyes now, during the times she reside on my lap, or did have prolonged eye contact with me, showed contentment or maybe even a deep affection when looking at me, as if i were a precious treasure to her.

When she slept upon me while i was seated or in my bed, she would often rest her head against my chest to listen to my heartbeat and curled her arms around my form. In these moments I would gently stroke her hair or hooded head, this always put her at even more ease and she would fall asleep and wore a heartwarming, peaceful, and content face. In those sparse yet sublime moments, I felt a deep affection for Cupa in those instances, and I could almost feel that my own heartbeat matched rhythm with hers while she rested against my chest. Was this feeling..love? Was she displaying love for me? All I knew was that my heart fluttered to her touch and I could feel my body heat up when I was around her. She was enticing with gentle her demeanor, display of her trust and affection, her intimate contact, and her cute skittish displays. These strong feeling for her were elated when she slept on me or my side on the chair or in bed, seeing her smile or blush always made me relaxed and content. I constantly felt this way around her, even if wasn't very good at showing it as she was showing it around me. She always was interested in learning new skills, helping me around the house, sharing her art with me. She always stayed close to me even when she didn't need to do so, and even with her newly skittish temperament around me, she'd always make it a point to hold my hand and always smiled when she looked at me.

She began acting like this, after we shard our deepest pains and histories, and it went into full swing the night she stayed with me in my bed. At first I thought that perhaps this was her way of making up to me for all I had done, and that she was going through a phase. Still, it dawned upon me that I was the first friendly face she had met in her years of solitude, and possibly the first other person she could share her pain and secrets with. With this knowledge of her past life, it only reaffirmed my emotional view of Cupa, she was clutching on to me, holding on to me because she may have been afraid that I would disappear too or disappear from her life. A fear that must have been so horridly real for her, and partially present in me after I lost my own family . It was understandable, considering her life up until this point, and I had no intention of pushing her away, even if her affections were uncomfortably direct for tastes at times. My intuition may be wrong or right at this point ,but I knew that I wouldn't let anything happen to her. She was precious to me, and she had brought with her a revitalization to my life. During our first days together or during our normal hours or activities, I saw her as just another person, and didn't look specifically at any of her features or think too differently of her because of her gender. This view of her changed after spending two weeks of living her with her, When she slept in my lap or by my side, I began to notice her feminine features: soft hair orange red hair, smooth skin,slender limbs and although she was still putting on a healthy amount of weigh to her once thin frame,she did have a attractive, dare I say even "sexy" rump and cleavage to her. Both of which no normal male could ignore. I felt perverted for seeing her that way or staring at her while she doodled or read, but i just couldn't help myself..besides I knew she must have done the same thing when I was distracted or sleeping.

But what drew me to her, beyond her body and feminine features, was her face, she had a small cute nose, rosy cheeks,a large forehead covered in locks of her bright red-orange hair and a infectious and cute smile. She was beautiful in every way I could imagine, not in just her physical appearance, for her bubbly and gregarious personality always got me in a good mood. She always had an lighthearted demeanor towards me, was somewhat playful and she was breath of fresh air. Her signs of fondness grew from nervously holding my hand when we first started meeting in the forest, to prolonged and intimate hugs or cuddles. This level of affectionate interaction could only be rivaled by my parent's. I admired and trusted her, she was very dear to me, she had helped me overcome some of my own pains, yet at the same time felt sorry for her. She had to overcome and survive such tragedy and isolation, to only to become the lovable, sweet girl who cuddles next to me almost every night I slept. Yet ,a deep anxiety and concern grew on me over the course of the weeks, and it would keep me up some nights. My doubts and conflicted feelings intensified whenever i gazed at her peaceful sleeping face or felt her wrap her limbs around me while i lied awake.

As I prepared the afternoon tea and sandwiches in the kitchen, my blissful thoughts were struck down by the same anxiety and resonating doubts that gnawed at me on some nights that tried to sleep with a placid and warm Cupa by my side. Thinking of It again, I slowly walked into the dining room and sat at the table setting up the food and dishes. I thought over the issue that also coincided with my newly developing feelings for Cupa. I did have strong feelings for her ,but these feelings were all too familiar . I had felt this elated before, several times , but they were infatuations with other village girls i had meet or tried to talk to while I grew up or when i visited Sigonella,but I learned from those experiences, the true meanings of the word " crush". Two questions popped into my head as I thought over me and Cupa's relationship as I sat down at the dining room table and poured the still hot tea. I looked at my reflection in the brown liquid inside of the ceramic cup. I've had my heart crushed before..but those were childish bouts of puppy love and crushes compared to how i felt about Cupa.

As i stared at my reflection i saw my glum face. "_Did I truly love Cupa or was it just a crush? Did Cupa truly love me or was her behavior simply a deep affection for a trusted friend? And if it was love..was it just infatuation?_" I asked myself as I stared at my reflection, I fretted over what would become of our relationship or what would happen to it, if either of us "crushed" or rejected the other. I'd never felt as attached to girl as i did Cupa, she was special and different in every way. Even with all these conflicting emotions rattling around in my mind, I thought of her cheerful face,and all those problematic thoughts dissipated from mind temporarily. These worries were always displaced by her cheerful demeanor once they occurred. I knew I was avoiding the issue,but every time I held Cupa or when she hugged me I felt it wash away,only for them to come back and fester stronger the next day. I shook these thoughts aside. "Cupa! Lunch is ready! Come on down!" I called out. I heard her gallop down the stairs and she joined me at the table, with a eager smile, she had some paint stains on her pants, but not one drop of paint touched her beloved Creeper jacket. "Thanks!" she said as she took up her chair by my side. She was currently wearing a loose fitting pair of tan shorts and her jacket was unzipped revealing her grey shirt underneath. Looking at this, i felt somewhat regretful and cheap to cloth her in hand-me-downs.

During her time living with me, we discovered that much to my disappointment, the clothes i thought would fit her , my mother's clothes, barely clung to her frame. Luckily, Cupa was more of a tom-boy and preferred male clothing to my mother's outfits, although i would catch her sometimes staring at herself in the mirror wearing the dresses sometimes. So I had to give Cupa hand me down clothes for her to wear, most of which were mine, she was appreciative even though my smaller clothes were still somewhat baggy on her. She would dabble in putting on my mother's clothes, but didn't care much for them, she didn't dress too feminine, but that simply added to her unique charm and personality that i came to adore. I'll admit, she did look cute in her own unique way, while wearing my old clothes, despite all the possible wardrobe malfunctions we've avoided with belts and rough adjustments of the clothing. I've lost count of how many times her clothes could have fallen off without belts or some very crude adjustments or hemming. Thinking about it and seeing this gave me an opportunity to raise it as topic of discussion and use it as a surreptitious avoidance for my ever growing conflicted feelings about her. It was a real issue and i did feel neglectful for allowing her to be dressed in hand-me-downs.

I didn't have the skills or materials to produce adequate clothing for her, or at least clothes that properly fit her, but perhaps there was solution, even if meant having to return to the place where my darkest memories resided. It may have been a stretch but perhaps my god parents could help me with my endeavor, that is if they weren't still peeved about me running out on them after my father's funeral ,and perhaps my god parents could help me to make sense of my feelings for Cupa. It was worth a shot and it would help me get come finale closure with my godparents and my own emotional scars. I made the proposal while we ate our lunch of tea and finger sandwiches. I watched amused as always as Cupa inhaled her serving of the little morsels. "Cupa, how would you like to get some clothes that actually fit you or a change, I feel bad having you wear my old stuff when I know I can do much better for you." i asked, she paused mid way through taking another bite of a sandwich, then took small bite. Her face blushed and she averted her eyes from me with a smile. "I- I don't mind wearing what you gave me" she playfully said, her voice partially muffled with her mouth full of food. I laughed at her comical response."Cupa, those clothes are simply too big on you and I can only do so much for adjusting them to your size. It would be inconsiderate of me to not properly provide for my…" I froze slightly near the end of that sentence, what would be appropriate to say? That she is my house guest, friend…girlfriend?!

Cupa took notice to my moment of distraction, she interjected with an inquisitive tone and cocked her eyebrow, she was being quite bold right now, i guess for her, she had to be the one to initiate close contact to go without acting embarrassed. "Where would you get these clothes? she then leaned closer to me, her question and curious gaze derailed my previous thoughts on how to address her ,without rocking any emotional boundaries with the title i should call her by. "Well, Cupa, I might know some people that can help us with finding you some clothes." "Who and where are they?' She asked, leaning ever closer to me from her chair with a sly look. "Well...they're my godparents and they reside in the village of Sigonella..." Her face soured at the mentioning of a village, I remembered her feelings about entering villages or other people. Her expression showed some apprehension, but she surprised me when she spoke out,but it was not for herself. " Are you sure you want to go there...Isn't that…where your..parents.."I nodded silently, interrupting her question. " Yes, both my parents did die there..but it's also the only village within reasonable distance, it's a one day journey from here." I answered calmly putting on my best reassuring face to hide the smidgen of angst i felt for the place.

She still wore an anxious and worrisome expression. I wrapped my right arm around her and pulled her closer towards me, her face blushed immediately."I know how you feel about entering villages…and other people..I'll understand if you don't want to go.." She looked me over, in quick glances, then closed her eyes and met my embraced from the side, and put on small smile, which took me by surprise. " I'm okay...it just..i don't you force yourself to confront bad memories" she said softly, her selfless concern for me and not for her own fears, warmed my heart. "Cupa.." i weakly said, my mind too touched for words. " I hate to see you suffer... just to do something for me..you've already done more than enough for me." she said in low, sweet placid tone, i felt her hands clutch tightly on the cloth of my shirt. "Where would we stay if we were to go.?" She asked. I had to rein in my emotions to answer her." At a local inn..but in all probability, we'd probably stay at my godparent's inn" She opened her eyes and looked up to me " What are your god parents like?" she asked , a curious almost child-like gaze sparkled in her amber eyes.

Her gaze refocused upon me and her demeanor calmed and relaxed. "Well, they were my dad's friends and they knew my parents long before I was born. I always thought of them as my grandparents..they helped my mom and dad get together. They helped my parents start out and helped to raise me..they may not have been blood related.. but I still consider them family nonetheless." Cupa smiled and rubbed her head against my chest. "They sound wonderful..do you think they would..I mean..I'd be a complete stranger.." she said I patted her head and smiled. "They are not the type of people to turn anyone away if they looked different, needed help or they were friends." i replied. Her face softened and she stopped rubbing her head upon my chest, simply resting it, and leaned form her chair all the way onto me.

I paused and waited for her to speak. "They helped raise you?" she asked. "Yes" I said, a smile spread on my lips as i reminisced on them. "What about the other villagers? W-what are they like?" she asked. I rubbed the back of my neck with my free arm and tried to remember. "Cupa, for as long as I could remember, the people of Sigonella would never judge someone on their appearance or chastise you for something as shallow as that,they are friendly and welcoming. I know for sure they won't discriminate against you or anyone just on their appearance." i said looked down and away. She was still somewhat anxious and I hugged her with the capacity of both of my arms." Just know that, even if you feel like you don't belong in Sigonella, I will always be there for you, so long as you are with me, you'll be fine..And there will always be a place for you here with me." She smiled with a blush and she hugged me back, but not before competently leaving her own chair and taking a seat on my lap. I felt my body warm up from her embrace and her radiant smile.

"So I'll take that as a yes?" I asked looking at her, she nodded. "Sure...but...won't it bother you..? I mean...you have so many memories there...and I know some aren't so pleasant for you..." Her cheerful face shifted to an expression showing concern for my own well being. I was again touched; she was more concerned for how going back to the place of my parent's deaths would affect me than for her own fears of other people. I pressed my palm on her warm cheek. "I'll be fine...Besides...I'll have you and my godparents to help me… if things go south" I said in a reassuring manner. She looked at me somewhat sternly then she relaxed again and she buried her face into my chest and spoke something inaudible. Naturally I began to stroke her head and let the warm embrace and heat of my heart speed up to this feeling of affection. "You'll love it there, and I'm sure my god parents will love you too". I whispered softly. She sighed out of relief and she began to take a little cat nap on my lap. As she was relaxing and cuddling up to me, i was internally becoming more anxious to the prospect of returning to place that was the resting ground of so many conflicting memories and emotions. But looking at her face, and feeling her limbs wrapped around me, dispelled these worries.

End of Chapter 8.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Family Reunion

I shifted softly up and down the hallway in my bland colored pajamas, as I made small marks on the checklist, reviewing and counting off all the provisions we could possibly need on our excursion to Sigonella. It was early morning and Cupa was still sleeping in my bedroom, I had shiftily put a pillow in my place for her to hug onto before I left her side. She slept quiescently while I quietly attended to this pestering task, that I obsessed over last night. We had everything we needed, and had already packed yesterday, but for me it was an inescapable habit to double check. The last 48 hours after I proposed we visit Sigonella, were dedicated to ensuring that our home and chores could go unattended in our leave of absence. I walked into one of the old storage rooms for one last double check. The room was dark and the only weak lights were faint rays that pierced past the dinky window curtains. The crates in it were covered in a thin film of dust. We had searched this room for a particular box containing the financial portion of my savings and the inheritance from my late parents.

They were small, brilliantly cut octagonal disks and glinted with a bright green. These disks were cut and carved from the incredibly common emeralds that were mined in this region. The people of Sigonella called these disks "Adra" and they were the medium of exchange for goods and services. Me and my parents had always saved and put away our Adras and we lived comfortably, until my mother's death and the subsequent bills for her treatment's drained my parent's savings What was left now…was my own meager sum and the payout from the insurance policy, that my father had signed up for when he first joined the mining company of Mianadóireacht. They bequeathed to me, over five hundred Adras. It was a sizable payout... enough to buy a small house in the village of Sigonella. The rights to it were given to me on that day... only hours after my father funeral...for me...those coins were worth less than dirt. Even as the years have passed...I still felt this way...All I saw in those reflective green coins was a reminder of what I lost because of the need for them. I had packed fifty of them and they rested in the coin purse tied to my pack. Even if I didn't think they had value, I would need to adopt that view once we were in the confines of the village.

Satisfied with the double checks, I returned to my bedroom to check on my still sleeping guest. She had curled around the pillow completely; I smirked at the imaging of me in the pillow's position at the mercy of her coddling. She looked so content and carefree while wrapped under the covers. I smiled and with a subtle hand I caressed her hair in my fingers. She slightly stirred, and turned her frame to face me, and grabbed my hand with a gentle grip. With her eyes closed she drew my right closer to her face until it rested upon her warm cheek. I smiled and patted her lofty head before gently taking away my hand. I descended into the kitchen to prepare breakfast; I yawned silently as I passed the living room, both our leather packs were sprawled out on the chairs waiting for their owners to take them. The typical morning sounds and morning light illumined through the windows. The sounds of morning birds and my barking dogs permeated into my ears as I cooked and prepared our breakfast. Our breakfast would be quick and simple as to save on time for our journey. "Rib clinging" food was the idea, so a heavy porridge with dried apple splices would suffice. I ate alone at a modest pace, but still almost burned myself on the hot food. I was in no rush, even if we started now we'd still be at the village by sundown so allowing Cupa to sleep in was not hindrance to the plan.

She would awake a few minutes later, and arrive to join me at the dining table with the same eagerness for food that she's always displayed. The rest of the morning went on as blur as we cycled through the motions ,she was as chipper and upbeat as any other morning, yet in light of her radiant behavior a burgeoning but small feeling of misgiving began to arise in me. I internalized it as to not worry Cupa. But the further I contemplated on how my godparents would react to seeing me again, and of the village, the more this anxious feeling arose. With some finale checks, a change of attire, consoling of my dogs and a last minute retrieval of a secret item by Cupa, we left the estate and started walking, our packs lightly bouncing on our packs. We walked in a comfortable silence and she had slyly taken hold of my free hand. Like clock when she was in close proximity to me, she put on her sheepish blush and adverted her eyes from my own. She still kept close to me and never loosened her palm from her grasp on my right hand. She asked to see one of the Adras once again. "Just don't lose it okay" I replied as I dropped the green octagonal coin into her palm. She marveled the simple thing holding it up to the light of the morning sun. " It's weird…in Tacipe we used rubies coins cut into hexagons..But these are pretty too." she commented. I smirked in response to her fascination with the trinket "Well don't get too attached to their looks, we'll be spending those on what we need while in Sigonella." She stuck her tongue out in response and returned the single Adra to my possession.

We continued our silent walk, simply enjoying the serene landscape of the forest and warm colors of the sun on the bright and inviting flora. We again made our way to the rail cart to speed up our travel and the cart ride was short but pleasant. As the morning sun was still wearily rising, putting the landscape in an amber glow, Cupa hummed as we walked and showed no apparent sign of distress or worry. I could not say the same for myself, for as we walked I kept a constant surveillance of the area. I felt an unnerving presence, someone or something was watching us from beyond the borders of the forest path we walked. I subtly looked around the landscape searching the shadows and trees, to dispel or prove this feeling that unseen interlopers were watching us.." Dyllan?" Cupa's voice derailed this bout of having my head on swivel state of alertness.." Y-yes?" I answered back ,still coming down from my attentiveness.

"Are you okay? You see really tense..is something wrong?" she asked, her amber eyes wrought with worry. I had always kept a keen vision while on my excursions in the forest, but this was different, I actually felt a real paranoia and I couldn't keep a straight disposition around her and flat out lie to her. "Y-yeah...I've got this feeling that someone..or something is watching us.." I said at whisper while I scanned the landscape again. Cupa looked in the same direction as I with a concerned expression. The forest was still alive with its normal sounds, nothing seemed abnormal. " I don' see and hear anything…do you think we'll be okay? Are..you okay?" she asked. I stopped mid step and scanned the forest, listening closely. The unnerving feeling somehow vanished, I put on reassuring smile and patted her head.

" Yeah…besides there's not anything too menacing in these forests, they've always been peaceful.. I guess I'm just a little nervous about heading back to Sigonella…" I said candidly as I slowly started walking again, Cupa kept in toe with my stride. " You're nervous?" she asked. I nodded slowly. "I'm a little scared…it's been years since I've been back there..and it's been ages since I talked to my godparents…I didn't exactly leave them on the best of terms.." a small wave of dread washed over. " What happened?..did you have a fight with them?" Cupa asked. "No…after my father's funeral…they took me in for a few months…they were very kind to me…I appreciated everything they did…but..I just couldn't live in the place that just reminded me of what I lost..I packed what possessions I could...I slipped out in the night ,leaving only a note behind. Ever since then..I lived at my family home, alone." Cupa lowered her head after my exposition and drew herself somewhat closer to my frame. There was an uncomfortable tensions between the two of us, that was only drowned out by the sound of the forests. " Are you afraid of how they'll react to seeing you again..after you left them?" she asked weakly.

I clenched my free hand. "Yes…what I did was discourteous...and there wasn't a day that went by…that I didn't think about it. I knew they loved me…I must have hurt them so badly when I left them…but i just couldn't live there anymore.." I looked to face Cupa and saw sympathy and worry radiate from her expression and from her firm grip on my side. Her disposition matched my own worry and anxiety, the feelings of angst was slowly fading from my own face. She stopped midway forcing me to stop suddenly with her hand still onto mine. She said nothing but only gave concerned and sincere look at me before she spoke again. "I'm nervous about meeting them too..But if they are anything like the way you described them, I'm sure they'll forgive you... Besides..It's like you said..we have each other." she ended her statement on a sweet note and put forth a reassuring smile before hugging me from the side. I exhaled slowly, quietly reflecting on her words. My conscious was somewhat elated of its fears and a portion of my worry settled down from the fear to reality, but not all of it.

She broke her hug and retook her place, close by my side and retook my right hand into her own soft little paw. We picked up our pace again, and walked with some tranquility. She still wore a smile and upbeat expression, she hummed and even adjusted her hair . Watching her blissful behavior put me more at ease, her little quirks amused me. She was far more relaxed and showed little tension. Her company and words had helped a great deal to dispel my worries, but in the recesses of my mind, I still felt a inhuman presence watching us as we progressed through the ancient woodland and the fear of facing my loved ones again. Sheltered and shaded by the lush canopy of the forest from the sun, We continued our trek on the familiar down trodden path. We took short breaks for meals and the occasional use of the bush for the bathroom. Just as The sun was waning, we began to see a shift in the topography. A once narrow dirt path became widening gravel road and every few lengths a tall post with oil lamps illuminated the path. As we followed this more well kept sign of civilization, the trees became thinner, in their places were rolling hills of green fields of grass or food crops. Sweeping across the land like vines , cutting and dividing the fields were chest high, ancient fences of stone. The sight of human cultivation and influence on the land slowly began to emerge on the lengths of both sides. It was a stark contrast to the dense forests, untouched my man. In the distance over another hill, gleaming with their artificial lights, were the village's quaint buildings built of stone and wood.

The perimeter was defined by and cut out of the landscape by stone walls ,and jutting out from the waist high walls were wooden posts with lamps. Their flames shimmered as brightly as the coming stars. With the last rays of sunlight dying and the coming of night upon us, we stood in twilight's shadows of the village's entrance. Towering above us, a large archway made of solid trees with a large sign hanging by ropes from the curved wood of the top. The impressive yet humble structure stood steadfast to welcome us as the village entrance. Upon it's wooden sign, carved and emblazoned at a black complexion and with great care, was a single phrase " Welcome to Sigonella." I rubbed cool wood of the archway's poll, memories of me swinging between my parents hands as we passed through this gate dozens of times before, raced into my mind. A sentimental smile spread across my lips as the humble structure took me back to my halcyon youth.

Cupa stared both at me and at the structure as I rubbed the old wooden arch with a curious expression. It had aged so much since my last visit, the once evenly textured wood had splinters and felt rough. " You remembering something?" Cupa asked endearingly with a smile. " Yeah…this old thing brings back some good memories for me." i answered back musingly. Walking through the archway, a nostalgic feeling crept over and combined with my sublime feelings of reminiscence. Even in the darkness and only by the light of the stars and lamps,I could still make out every little detail of this village, It felt so familiar as I looked around myself. A happy wistfulness took over as we walked the gravel roads. Cupa leaned in closer to me, her amber eyes awash with awe as she took in the sight, smells and sounds of a sleeping village. " So this is where you grew up?" she asked at a whisper, as if not wanting to disturb the tranquil silence we were sharing. " Yup, this is Sigonella..it hasn't change at all.." I answered back. Instinct and memory took the lead as I walked along guiding Cupa into night version of my world. I scanned the signs of the humble structures looking for my god parent's Tavern/Inn. There were no souls on the streets since the sun set, the villagers were already preparing for the night inside their homes or sleeping peacefully in their beds. The only sounds that escaped the night's silent grip were insects, nocturnal beasts, or the occasional unruly howling dog. The rustling of the gravel crackling under our footsteps occupied my ears

As the single story building came into sight, my dread reemerged as I saw it's sign, jutting out from the wooden structure. A trio of stair steps led up to a small wooden balcony extending from the main building. It was supported by artistic wooden arches. the entire building was wooden with stone slated roof, except for base. The walls were made from a deep dark brown wood. The large windows, with their cream colored curtains obstructed our view inside and they filtered out the lights. The building's sign read "The Iron Pig" it was my god parent's tavern/inn. I stood at the edge of stairs, reluctant to move my feet. We could hear laughter and music echoing from the building, the lights although dimmed by the cloth of the curtains, were still bright and were casting shadows from the inside. Fear tugged at my heart, but with a deep breath and with Cupa's supportive expression and warmth of her hand, I swallowed down these feelings. We opened the door and entered the dopey establishment, sunken down into four rectangular areas, were arrays of tables with four semi wall off sections for the patrons. The floor was tiled and adorned with carpets. Mounted upon the walls were paintings and stuffed heads of various beasts or creatures that lived in this land. Near the far right rear was the bar and it's counter, to it's right a corridor leading further into the building. There were a few patrons still lingering about, but most of them were in drunken stupors, failing about as if dancing in the walled off areas to the calming instrumental music, that babbled from a quaint wooden box. Some of the building's denizens' rested their heads upon the tables, other snored softly, their mugs and tankards still in their grasps. A wafting smell of alcohol and cinnamon permeated in the air of the building as we walked further inward. The music was soothing, low lights and ease of the tone all made a relaxed atmosphere. As we walked, memories came flooding back, I scanned the room for the two persons I would have to reconcile with.

Then i saw him, he stood behind the main bar, tucked away in the far right corner. He was cleaning mugs and tankards with a relaxed and bored expression, his lips silently moving as if talking to himself. There were no drinkers sitting at the stools and the people to our flanks, paid no mind to us as we approached the bartender. Seeing him, washed away my relaxed composure, my senses were dulled to the sound of the music as my mind raced and my vision fixated on the bartender. Cupa clung tighter to me, as we walked to the back to the bar counter. Standing behind the smooth polished wooden surface of the counter and in front of various stacks of drink ware and casks, was a man dressed in a black vest, covering his collared white shirt. Draped and concealing covering the lower half of his body, was a stained green apron that swayed as he moved. His eyes were closed as he continued with his task of cleaning mugs and tankards with a rag.

He was a bear of man, he was a head taller than me, and his powerful upper body was constrained by the fabric of his clothing. He had a long torso, broad shoulders and behind his closed eyelids, as i recalled in my vivid memory, were a pair of piercing olive colored eyes. His hair although thinning near the edges, was still a steely black , had now began to shift into grey. His Balbo beard matched the coloration of his hair, it too had streaks of gray, each one signify his age. Cupa used me as shield as we approached the man. A nervous sweat began to accumulate on my brow I as stared at a man whom, i had considered a dear role model and a second father. The tension lasted for an uncomfortable amount of time, he didn't notice me until I spoke in choppy and anxious voice. "Gale" I weakly said. He stopped scrubbing the mug and his face jerked in my direction with surprised eyes. He stared at me with his mouth slightly agape and his face in a locked expression of awe and surprise. "Dyllan?" Gale asked, his voice had not changed at all; it was deep and hoarse with the endemic accent of the villagers of Sigonella. I simply responded to his question with a weak smile and nodded. Gale put aside his mug and rag and slowly walked before me, his frame was even more intimidating up close, and we stared into each others eyes, his lower lip quivered. Small tears began swell up in his olive colored orbs. "Dyllan…" "Gale…i…i…" I felt my own set of tears accumulate as my voice locked up, the cascade of emotions hit me hard, as this reunion finally came into fruition. Before I could say anything further, Gale took me into rib crushing hug, I felt his body tremble as he lightly cried into my shoulder.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry..." I said in a whimper . Gale did not respond verbally ,but simply drew me closer to his own frame. After a few minutes of this heartfelt embrace he broke away as we wiped away our own respective tears. Cupa had separated from me watching at reasonable distance, with a smile spread across her lips. I tried to speak again, to try and expel all of my guilt and apologize further, but Gale pressed his large finger against my lips. "Don't say anything lad…" " But aren't you angry?" i asked in pleading manner. " No, we were never angry...we we were always worried...but you had your reasons... I'm just glad to see you're alright...we've already forgiven ya… "Gale choked up with tears near the end of his statement. I was shocked and choked up even more, I felt all the more guilty, even though he able forgave me for having deserted them, i still felt self hatred for having put them through such pain. I rushed forward the hugged Gale as new tears dripped and stained his vest. He gently met the embrace and patted my head. " I'm sorry.." I repeated weakly into his chest. Again broke away, and stood silently as we looked at each otehr with teary smiles, he then took notice to Cupa standing behind me, she ducked her head to Gale's gaze. He put on courtly smile. "Well hello there..What be your name wee lass?" he asked. Cupa blushed and further hid herself behind me. Gale simply smiled and backed away. " Cupa is a little shy around new people..You'll have to forgive her. " I said on her behalf while I reaffirmed my grip on her hand to comfort her. Gale let out a light chuckle before patting my shoulder. " So the lass's name be Cupa eh…so.." before he could finish his statement, a familiar female voice called out. "Gale? Gale honey, did you finish cleaning up? Dinner is…." The owner of voice, an older woman, ceased her question and slowed her pace to a near stop as we meet gazes. She stood still at the corner of a corridor that led away from the right side of bar to the state rooms and living quarters. She placed her palms and covered her mouth, her vibrant dark beige eyes shimmered and began to redden and moisten to the sight of me, I felt my own heart race and my eyes moisten as well. "Isabel…" I whispered aloud.

Isabel, the woman standing before me, whom I considered my second mother looked as if she were on the verge of tears as we slowly approached each other. She was shorter than me by a few hair lengths and had maintained an comely figure despite her age. She was dressed with combination of a marble white Halter dress draped over a light brown Sheath dress. Her maroon shoes echoed as she stepped forward. Hanging around her neck was pair of reading glasses. .Her sleek auburn hair was braided into two buns that sat upon the parallel sides of her head. We stood at arm's length, and I found myself looking down at her with small tears in my own eyes. "Dyllan!" she cried out as she dashed over and drew me into a rib crushing hug, she then pecked my face with kisses and she drew me closer. She laughed and giggled looking upon me with tears of joy. I meet her embrace too and let the tears flow. " I'm so sorry.." I said softly into her ear, I felt her tears drip onto my shoulder.

We broke the embrace and we silently stared at each other, She softly placed one of her palms upon my cheek and wiped away some of my tears. " You're alright...thank Notch you're alright" she said in thankful tone as she caressed my face. she sniffled as a smile spread on her lips. "I'm so sorry..." i said again but Isabel simply pushed one of her slender fingers against my lips to silence me " Please...Dill...just don't say anything..I'm just so thankful to see you.." she said in a elated but teary voice. Isabel broke away and took her place by Gale's side. Both Gale and Isabel gaze upon me,and i did the same to them, my fears had been destroyed and i felt a great weight lift off of my weary heart. "So? Are you going to introduce us to your lady friend there?" Isabel asked with raised eyebrow and smirk. Cupa was hesitant, but with my assurance, I gingerly presented Cupa with my arm wrapped around her. She was bashful and made little eye contact with my godparents ."Gale, Isabel, I want you to meet Cupa." Cupa nervously introduced herself and waved with a nervous smile. Both peered upon Cupa and then back to me, they raised their eyebrows and looked at each other as if they had some knowledge that I didn't posses. "A pleasure to meet you!" Gale boisterously proclaimed as he extended his hand. Cupa was intimidated by Gale's sheer size and was hesitant to put her tiny hand into his paw "Aye don't worry about him dear, he's a big softy, he wouldn't hurt a fly" Isabel said as she swooped to her side hugged Cupa. Cupa said nothing and her face blushed at the contact of Isabel's welcoming embrace. I smirked at her response and patted her head. But at that moment my and Cupa' stomachs gurgled out of huger. " Would you two like to join us for dinner ?" Isabel asked sweetly. Cupa batted her eyes away and twiddled with thumbs, and i rubbed the back of my neck. " Well we wouldn't want to impose..Besides..Don't you two need to watch the bar?" I weakly asked. Gale had took me by shoulders and was already leading me away from the bar. "Dyllan, it's never a bother, besides all those folks have already paid for their drinks and are good for returning their mugs. You two must be starving from traveling here!" Isabel said in assertive manner as she escorted Cupa by placing her hands on Cupa's shoulders and followed suit. "We've got some catching up to do you know that right and.." Gale said, he then leaned in closer and whispered a question into my ear as we walked down the corridor. "Plus ya need to tell me some more about yer girlfriend there" he gave a wink and sly smile after the question. I felt my face blush to the question.

They would seat us to large wooden oak table in their humble dining room. Isabel was generous with the helpings and Cupa took full advantage of their generosity. Isabel and Gale were in silent awe to Cupa's appetite. I sat somewhat embarrassed to Cupa's lack of manners and her voracious appetite. " Sorry, she's an eater" I responded. Isabel and Gale simply smiled. "Oh it's no trouble at all dear, it's good to see a girl with a healthy appetite." Isabel said back as she gave Cupa another spoonful. The meal consisted of dense cheese and vegetable casserole that sat like a brick in my stomach, I felt uncomfortably full, just after one hearty serving and sipped at glass of water. Cupa's demeanor became far more relaxed once she got some food into her. Gale and Isabel sat placidly and looked at us with smiles. After we ate our meal and helped in the clean up, we began to play catch up for the years that we had seen each other. There were light chuckles and as the conversation progressed, it was relaxed atmosphere. Cupa herself even laughed at the hearing of my baby nickname of "Dill". We became far more relaxed and an all too familiar sense of belonging re-emerged as the evening continued. It was a trip down memory lane as we caught up in my years of absence since I had left them.

Isabel and Gale soon shifted their attention and focus onto Cupa, who during the duration of the conversation had slowly moved herself closer to me, and was now leaning in on me from her own chair. I could feel my face blush out of embarrassment as she shifted her frame closer to mine. Both my god parents looked over this display and smirked to themselves. "So, Dyllan, how did you come across this fine little creature here?" Gale asked with sly smile. "Oh Yes, please do tell Dyllan, you were never the best around girls…so how did you and Cupa meet?" Isabel interjected. I was embarrassed to tell the story and tugged at my collar, but Cupa surprised me by speaking first in a confident and endearing way. "We meet in the forest about three weeks ago…he was hunting in his tree stand. I thought the thing was empty, I had been sleeping in it so I assumed that no one else was using it... when I first saw him, I swear my eyes and his eyes were huge!" she paused and giggled.

"It was so awkward at first, he was really quiet…but…" she shifted and somewhat blushed in the middle " It was awkward, you know..you meet a complete stranger...a rather handsome stranger…" I felt my face flush at her calling me handsome, she trailed of and her eyes sparkled with some reminiscence. "He continued hunting or whatever it was he was doing..of course it was getting dark, so we both had to share the stand since the night was coming." Cupa ceased her talking and took my free hand. I took the hint and began to talk as to recount for what transpired in the three weeks we had spent together. Gale and Isabel contently and with endearing smiles as they listened to our tale with great interests and had numerous questions. Cupa had rebounded from her shyness towards my magnanimous god parents and became more vocal as we shared what we had been up too since we first met. The only questions we didn't feel comfortable answering were the ones regarding Cupa's past. I felt that it would be inappropriate to revisit old wounds and that it not my place to disclose her own personal scars and history. She could tell them on her own accord and I know I would be there to support he when she did feel comfortable enough with them for her to tell them. Regardless of the taboo subject and erring on avoiding those hot issues of Cupa's history and of my own past turmoil, we still shared a content evening connecting.

The conversation died down and Cupa began to drift into slumber, resting against my frame, seeing as she as about to fall from her own chair I propped her up and rested her on my lap with little thought. Like clockwork she snuggled up to me and let out a tranquil little yawn. My mind all but fixated on her sleeping face, and the feeling of her warm body pressed against my own, I had nearly forgotten of Cupa's clothing situation or of my god parent's presence in the room. I brought up Cupa's clothing issue to them . "Aye, Mr. Donaldson owns a shop, he's the best at what he does, I'm sure he can help ya." Gale responded as stood up and stretched with Isabel. "However you can visit them tomorrow."They looked me and Cupa over, "For now I think we should set you two up with a room" Gale leaned down to my eye level turned and looked at the sleeping Cupa. Isabel joined him by his side and two looked at us for a moment, then Gale broke his silence "She loves you lad." He said softly. I sat there surprised by his comment. Their faces were earnest, and were bright as they were supportive."How can you be so sure…I mean...what if I'm just a friend to her?" I answered with some somberness in my tone.

Before Gale could answer, Isabel interjected "Dyllan, take it from a woman, a girl shows her affection in many ways, the tone of her voice, the way she smiles, the way she acts around a guy". Isabel walked over and put her hand upon my shoulder and looked at the sleeping Cupa. "She's been showing all the signs, all night, she's been by you side , and way she talked about you..it's clear that she has strong feelings for you." Gale soon added to the conversion "Aye, just look how comfortable she looks lad, tell me, does she feel tense at all? Or is she relaxed?" Wrapping my arms around her, she was relaxed, warm and shifted further into my frame to my embrace. Gale nodded with a soft smile, he saw the answer on my face, she was completely content resting in my arms. " From the way you two have told your story, to that look in her eyes, and how she cuddled up to ya. You've given her plenty a reason to love ya" he placed his palm upon my shoulder. " And we can see that you love her too."

End of Chapter 9


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Confessions of the Heart.

Both Gale and Isabel looked upon me with a sanguine air of pride as I held Cupa in my arms. There words echoed in my mind, "_She loves you lad_". I tried to speak but fell silent, I was still wary of how I could express my own feelings, or were to start in addressing my fears of experiencing such a profound attachment to a person. Isabel's words struck true as I began recollect Cupa's behavior, all the signs had been there, and were showing now as I felt her heartbeat and warmth radiate into my body. I was just too naive or fearful to address them. It was the same subtle flirtatious behavior I had seen other girls and women act out around other people hat struck their fancies. I guess I just needed a third party to validate or give an outside opinion, their input into an area that was grey and murky to me made it clearer. It was exciting nonetheless, for I had always assumed from my experiences that I wasn't lovable beyond my immediate family or family friends. Thinking over it now, put some stability and put to rest my anxious thoughts about how she felt about me. Yet I still wanted her to say it, to show it in very direct and incontestable display of affection to truly solidify it.

Perhaps, it would require me having to reveal my own true feelings for her, for her to also express her own heart's secrets to me. I contemplated this as I stroked her sleeping head and gazed upon her peaceful face. "In all my years of watching couples coming' and going, I've never seen a lass cozy up with a lad and fall asleep in his arms so easily… not since your mother and father… I've seen plenty of fellows act a fool in this bar around the ladies but this... this is certainly something special" Gale softly said as he retreated away and picked up our heavy packs with one hand, I had forgotten how strong the man was. "She is certainly unique...and very pretty…maybe that's just what you need in a girl, Dill. Notch knows how much you'd clam up up around the local girls and that you were always a bit on the more quiet side from the other boys." Isabel commented while approaching from my side. I smirked at the memory. " Yeah…" I slowly murmured. Both of them retreated back to me and my slumbering treasure, "I'll get a room ready for you, we're normally booked in spring but we haven't gotten any patrons yet. So you can have your pick of the rooms lad" Gale said softly as to not awaken Cupa.

I reached for the coin purse in the pack and extended the precious stones to Gale. He cupped his large palm over mine and pushed my offer back, he shook his head sternly to my attempt to pay. "You're family Dyllan, your stay, meals and drink are free, just so long as you and Cupa don't cause trouble you can stay with us for as long as your heart's desire ". I looked to Isabel for confirmation and approval, and she nodded quickly with a soft smile and reassuring eyes. Gale smiled and rubbed my shoulder. With as much subtly as I could rally, I slowly stood with my orange haired keeper of my heart, still sleeping unperturbed by the shift in her position or my walking. Her arms were still draped over my shoulders and they gently drew her closer to my body, she rested her chin upon my right shoulder and her head leaned in on my ear. I smiled at the faint motions and sounds of her gentle breathing, as we walked along quietly.

The wooden walled corridor, draped with carpets, paintings and illuminated in a soft glow from the cinnamon scented candles, invited us to venture further down the hall. A sense of belonging embraced us in that silent yet enticing corridor with a soothing calm as we progressed down the hallway. Adorned with curved black metal struts with their humble wax sticks of light, as our only lights, each stood as the guard to a door and room. I scanned each door and their overhead numbers and continued on until I found a room that felt satisfactory to my relaxed composure. Gale and Isabel said nothing and silently followed me, with approving smiles and no hindrance or impatience. Then one room struck my fancy, and my memory, it's door was older and aged, and it had no numbers nailed to it unlike the other state rooms. It lacked any distinct features or marks of identification, but for me, it was as memorable as my own home's door.

I silently motioned my approval; this was the room that I would like for me an Cupa to stay in. With a silent swiftness, Isabel produced a ring of keys, then unsealed the metallic lock, I quietly stepped into the dark room ,my eyes still adjusting to the shadows, began to make out the contents of the room. It was as if no one had ever used this room, but its appearance hid its secrets. For even in even though it was spotless, it had appeared just the way I left this room so many years ago. It tucked Cupa into the room's double bed, which was tucked out of the way of the door in the corner. Gale dropped our luggage softly by the room's wooden wardrobe, the light of the hallway barely illuminated the room and so she lit the solitary lamp residing on an adjacent nightstand. I knelt down by Cupa's side, stroking her lofty head as she contorted her frame to the full embrace of the pillows and blankets. I internalized a smile before I stood up and slowly began to pace the room.

With its growing light, the lamp revealed the full scenery of the room, what was once obscure and dark was cascaded away with clarity. As I caressed the walls and wooden furniture, both with my hands and eyes, the nostalgia of long tucked away memories, rekindled themselves. Gale and Isabel had meticulously kept my old room free of dust, varnished the wood, and not one object was moved. "We kept it this way…because we always knew that you'd come back..." Isabel said sentimentally. I then stopped at the desk and sat down in it's accompanying chair . Sitting in the center of desk, besides my books and pencils, just as I had left it, was the letter that marked my departure. It had aged but was still legible. Regret seeped into my conscious as I gingerly picked up the paper message and read it silently to myself and reflected on the state I was in on the night I departed.

_Dear, Gale and Isabel,_

_Please know that I have and always will love you are indeed very precious to me, which is why I cannot force myself to hide my sadness from you. You've been nothing short of a family to me, comparable only by my birth parents, but even this love and your support , it cannot replace what I have lost ,and I fear that continuing to reside here ,will only drag me further into despair. With the love I do have for you two, I don't want you to have to witness this degradation in me or be dragged down with me. Ever since their departures from this world, I have felt only morose and languid, it has taken all of my mental fortitude each day to just operate with a façade of normality. I haven't felt any life or spark in me since the funerals or in the subsequent two months after. I don't even feel alive in this place, or see any more reason or point to living here; it seems to only remind me more and more of them each day that I venture into the village's streets. The torture of having to face this each morning, haunted my waking hours. There is nothing left for me here aside from you two and the turmoil of my memories. I cannot find any recourse and so I must go off alone and search for a new meaning or try to heal. I do not know for how long this will take. Or if I'll ever completely reconcile with you and with when I do, I will return after I've found a new purpose for my life, or if I have finally come to terms with what I have lost. Words alone cannot express the pain that is in my heart as I written this letter, or the tears I've had to wipe away to prevent them from staining the paper, and it is my only option to express how I've felt without causing conflict with you. It would tear my heart to pieces to see you two in any pain if I were to say this to you in person, and so by the time you will have found this.,I will be gone. I am eternally thankful for everything you have done for me and I am eternally sorry for leaving you._

_Sincerely,_

_Your son._

_Dyllan._

I felt a tear drop from my eye as it stained the aged paper, I felt gentle hands take hold of my shoulders, and I silently cried and leaned down on the desk. I looked up to see my god parents with pained expressions and wetness in their eyes as they looked at me in silence. "Four years…I've been gone for four years..." I said weakly. I looked to my godparents, I felt so ashamed and guilt ridden for what I had done, "How can you two have forgiven me? Why? I up and left my only loved ones…how are you not angry with me?" I asked somewhat frustrated and confused with my fist clenched. They lowered their eyes, their gazes as hurt as and watery as mine. "Because we could see it too Dyllan, we couldn't be angry, we were just sad… you weren't the same happy little boy we knew or helped raise..it hurt us just as much to watch you suffer after such a tragedy." Isabel said in a tone of despondency that matched her weary face. "We've know you your entire life..and your parents were dear friend to us…we could tell that you weren't happy..Try as we might...we just couldn't..help...and we felt guilty all the same…" Gale said in a defeated tone, his upbeat bravado and was gone and he was showing a discomforting state of physical weakness, he was always strong…and raised the spirits of others. But seeing him in this state, looking so powerless despite his physical size, and lack of his trademark confident luster in his olive eyes, hurt me all the more when he spoke out in a choked voice.

Isabel was the first to slowly put forth a more positive demeanor by putting on a weak smile, she wiped away some stray tears and palmed my shoulder. "But you kept your promise, Dill and seeing you now, you've grown...You're happier...You found what you seeking to find ...or at least _she_ found you." Isabel said sentimentally before turning her gaze to a sleeping Cupa. I stood up slowly and approached her sleeping form, I felt my godparents standing behind me as I knelt down to her side. She was still softly cooing as she slept, there was no trace of worry on her face or tension in her body. Seeing her like this, put me more at ease and a smile spread across my lips. I tried to speak again, but Gale anticipated what I would be trying to say, to try and apologize further, and pressed his sausage like finger against my lips. "Stow it, you did what you thought was right in your heart, you were a man then..And so we respected your decision...even if did hurt us.… You're certainly grown even more as man now." Gale said sternly but with proud gaze emanating from his olive orbs. I looked to Isabel and she nodded in agreement with her husband. Gale nodded silently with his eyes closed. Gale and Isabel stood over me in silence, until Isabel broke the silence " You love her, don't you Dyllan?" she said sweetly, the question resonated before I could answer. I stood up to face them, they both passively awaited the confirmation of what we all already knew, what I already knew I felt.

" I do, I love her." I said softly. I paused as I felt that I had to defend my emotions even thought I didn't need to " Ever since the first day I met her, I just knew that I wanted to protect her, to let her feel safe, and that's she belonged. I was lonely and I didn't want her to feel lonely ether. She's very special to me" i said as I looked back upon her sleeping form. "I just don't know how I can tell her, or show her how I feel." I walked closer to Gale and Isabel and looked them both dead in the eyes, I was nervous and anxious at this moment, and I had spilt my guts on revealing my deepest emotions. "To be honest, I've felt this way for a long time, it's just…" I hesitated mid sentence but Gale filled it in. "You're afraid" He sympathetically said. He took the words right out of my mouth; I simply nodded to confirm what he said. Gale grabbed my shoulder in a reassuring movement and put on a stern but sincere face. " Lad, what your feeling is nothing abnormal, that's what makes love so wonderful and yet so terrifying..that sense of the unknown or not knowing. I understand that you're afraid, we both do..and although she doesn't show it..I can say in confidence that Cupa is afraid too. I know I was...but you can't let that fear drag you down. Just look at me and Isabel, we have been married for over thirty -five years and we started out in love but afraid of our feelings just like you...and just like your own parents. Listen when we tell you that Cupa loves you."

I looked to Isabel and she nodded in agreement. "I just don't know how to say it or show it guys…I've never felt this strongly for a girl before..I've never had this type of relationship.. I don't know what to do… I want to act out on my feelings for her..yet I don't want to upset or insult her. I don't want to hurt her in any way…but I don't know how I should act around her…All this has been plaguing my thoughts for the past two weeks." I said in tone strife with frustration. Isabel stepped forward and took my head with her hands and looked into my eyes "Dyllan, you can't over think or try to put a point or try to predict romance or love, is not forced, or fixed, or a destination ,and if you try to make t that way, you'll rob yourself and Cupa of something wonderful. How you've two have been acting, and caring for each other, without forcing it, or putting up false personas, is exactly what drew you two together." Isabel paused and looked down and away before speaking again.

" Your father was in this very same predicament when he first started courting your mother. You're just like him, you have that same excited but scared look in your eyes. the same feelings of insecurity of the future or how he should behave around a person he cared so deeply for.. It's scary how much you two are alike. He asked for our advice just like you were doing now." She bit her lower lip as some mirthfulness washed over her eyes. "I can't tell you how to feel or how to show Cupa your true feelings. But when the time is right, your heart will tell you what to do. You've been doing your best with or without knowing it. You've gained her trust,treated her like an absolute gentleman, and she loves you." She paused again, her eyes began to moisten and redden as if ready to release some more tears." You really have grown up.." She said sentimentally, before gingerly kissing me on the cheek before leaving the room "Good night ,Dill". She said. Isabel's departure left an air of silence as me and Gale stood in the doorway. "She's right you know. " Gale said before He chuckled then sighed he again took a more serious tone. " Son, I know what you're feeling. I can't tell you what you should do, but being honest is always the best thing for you and for her. I can only hope that you can find a way to let her know how you feel. Telling her that you love her and that you're afraid, would be a huge relief off of her shoulders as well. She's probably afraid too..And from what you've told me..You've know how to comfort her when she's afraid and she knows how to comfort you." He patted me on the back, his confident luster gleamed again in his eyes as he smiled. "I can rest easy knowing that you let that little lass's heart break or that she'll hurt you." he said. What they had said made a lot of sense, this wasn't just my fear and love to confront, but Cupa's as well. I sat back down in my chair combing my black hair with my hands as I thought over what I should do. "Well how did my dad tell my mother? Better yet how did you tell Isabel that you loved her?" I asked, thinking that perhaps hidden in the answers I could find a starting point for addressing the Creeper in the room.

Gale nodded and simply patted my shoulder. " Your father, like you, was never too keen on picking up on the ladies, never as charismatic or full of male bravado like the other Sigonella males, but he and your mother were able to reveal each other's heart's secrets, how he or she did it I don't know" he shrugged his shoulders. " As for me and Isabel, that lad is another tale for another time. I'll tell you it one of these days, but not tonight" I felt disappointment to his answers, they had not reaped anything worth of value as I was hoping. Gale turned and walked to the door, he then whispered something inaudible before saying Goodnight and leaving me alone to contend with my own thoughts.

Still weary and my mind racing, I leaned into my chair and stared at the ceiling ,my right hand resting upon my forehead whilst the left toyed with the hair of my chin strip out habit of when I was in pensive thought. I looked around the dark expanse of the room, looking for answers to my dilemma, and nothing came. Frustrated I closed my eyes with annoyed grunt as I tried to envisions the countless scenarios in my head of how I could confess my feelings for Cupa. All of which I shot down as unrealistic or In my own opinion seemed unsuitable for the angel sleeping so softy in the bed behind me.

I almost felt like crying from the sheer frustration, but upon that precipice of releasing more tears, as I held my head in my hands, I felt A gentle tugging on my shoulder. Surprised, I slowly turned around in the direction of its source to see an alert but heavily blushing Cupa. Even in the dim light of lamp I could see a small smile on her face and her glimmering amber eyes. Without saying anything she sat on my lap and leaned in tenderly to embraced me, resting her chin upon my shoulder, I felt her warm cheek press against my own. She wrapped herself tightly to me, and her warmth radiated into my body. At that moment my previous anxiety and angst melted away only to be replaced by contentment, and a mixture of heart fluttering and butterflies in my stomach. But a new question sent shivers down my spine as she coddled me with affection. " _Did she overhear my conversation with Gale and Isabel on how I felt about her?_"

I looked at her all the while, trying to get a read on her, but i could not see her face. Perhaps she did, and she was expressing herself in her usual fashion. Feeling her embrace, I let go of my frustration and out of habit I stroked her head, but as I did, she spoke, almost at a whisper , uttered out a single statement into my ear. "I'm afraid too." With that single phrase uttered, she had confirmed that she did indeed overhear the conversation and that she was reveling her own fears of this love we shared, and much like the angel I thought of her, she was trying to comfort or reassure me. "I love you..but I'm also nervous..I've never been in such relationship with someone as dear to me as you are…I'm not too confident of how to proceed…and I know so little about you…but i want to know more. " I answered back softly as I met her embrace with my own arms. "Neither am I …but I still want to be with you..even thought there still so much about you that I don't know too." she said back, I felt her rub her cheek against my own as she cuddled up closer to me. " I'm nervous... I didn't think i could trust anyone again..or be around anyone...It's so new...And it's scary...…I don't want to hurt you either… but I'm more scared of not having you than anything else." Cupa said in a sentimental whisper. I was touched and felt a sublime feeling wash over as I began to understand the implications of her words and present action. " So, that's why you've been acting so skittish around me lately?" I asked. She nodded in confirmation. " You made me happy and anxious at the same time.. you done so much for me and asked for so little..I've been wanting to tell you...how I've felt..or for you to tell me..but I was afraid to." she said before she paused again.

I closed my eyes and somewhat tightened my embrace of her as I softly stroked her head . "Thank you.. " she said. I smiled to myself, Gale was right, the silent burden had been taken off of her shoulders once I was honest with her. "I'm new to all of this, so I'll just ask you now to forgive me if I do mess up along the line..but I'll do my best" I said. She unhooked her chin from my shoulder and she looked me in the eyes with her own endearing gaze. "I'll do my best too..but to me honest..i don't want you to change anything about how you act around me." She said with soothing tone. We gazed at each other with small smiles, but for some reason she averted her face in a full crimson blush. "Dyllan? can I do something..if you don't mind?" she asked in a timid voice. "What you want to do?" I asked. She darted her eyes to and fro and she twiddled her thumbs.

" C-can I kiss you?" she asked. Shocked, I remained silent and felt my face flush and heat up at the very thought of the proposition, it was one that I had thought of doing on many occasions but simply could not summon the courage to do so. Cupa looked at me with an anxious expression waiting for my response. Assuming that I wouldn't she hung her head, showing some disappointment. I didn't say anything, I made another bold decision acting out on an impulse and as I took her face into my right palm, her eyes dilated in the low light as we gave glances into each other's souls. I was nervous, excited and a small hint of lust reared its head as well. She was nervous but it was not fearful nervousness, but one of a person in anticipation. Her eyes showed wanting in them. With my heart in my throat, my face blushing, and the feel of her own hand cupping over mine on her face, I gulped down my fear, this was the first time I had ever kissed a girl. Gently and with as much competence as I could muster, I pressed my lips against her own. My eyes were closed the entire time ,and was I deathly afraid that I had missed, but the texture of her lips pressed against my own replaced this with a new and rather intoxicating feeling.

She was understandably surprised at first to the warm and tender action, but she slowly pushed back with her own kiss, pulling me forward gently at an even force matching my own gentle grasp on her warm cheek. Kissing family members was one thing, but the warm wave that came as I shared my first kiss with Cupa was nothing short of a sublime moment. I was the first to move away and open my eyes; she slowly moved back as well, her eyes slowly opened. Her face was heavily blushing and she fretted with her hair silently. A peaceful silence took hold as we sat , still looking at each other with glancing eyes. I rubbed the back of my neck. "Sorry I've been wanting to do that for while now…Was it okay?" I asked, I was nervous and still self conscious of this series of confessions we shared and of this rather intimate display of affection. Cupa simply smiled and responded with another soft kiss on my lips. She palmed my right cheek with an affectionate gaze. "I don't know...How was it?" she asked with some of her own tone of curiosity. " It' was nice" I replied almost at a whisper. " "So was yours…Now we're even, you didn't ask permission to kiss me, so I will not want ask permission to kiss you." After saying this, she giggled in her throat before resting her chin upon my shoulder, her warm cheek perched next to mine. " I love you." She whispered into my ear.

I smirked to myself, patting myself on the back for being so unnaturally bold and for finally giving some concrete affection for Cupa to hold to her heart. As my heart rate returned to its normal pace and I felt the blood of my blush rush from my face go back to the rest of my body,all the tension melted away under the blanket like embrace of Cupa. In this tranquil state I stroked her hair and closed my eyes allowing only my other senses to take over. I could feel her heartbeat, the stir of her limbs around me, furnace like warmth and her own faint natural scent. It was all soporific and added further to me not wanting to move or open my eyes. This unperturbed moment didn't last too long as I heard the chair began to creak and groan. I quickly moved both myself and an undisturbed Cupa to right side the bed. I turned around to see the chair's wood had cracked right down the base. I sighed out of relief, had I delayed any longer we both would have crashed down hard on our asses.

Cupa in spite of the rushed transition still slept soundly on the right side of the bed. I put the fragile chair underneath the desk and retook notice of the aged note. I picked up the aged paper note and returned to Cupa's side. I knelt down looking at her peaceful face as I re-read the note. The last few lines were the main focus, a promise and quest I had started years ago, had now taken it's shape in the form of red-orange haired, amber eyed enchantress and companion.

_"I cannot find any recourse and so I must go off alone and search for a new meaning or try to heal. I do not know for how long this will take. Or if I'll ever completely reconcile with you and with myself..But when I do... I will return after I've found a new purpose for my life...or if I have finally come to terms with what I have lost."_

I looked at Cupa and reflected on the time we had spent together, her entrance into my life, and my arrival into hers. She helped me come to terms with my own history and took away the monotony of my listless existence. Looking at her placid disposition, with her small smile on her lips, I felt like crying out of joy, a few tears did escape but I wiped them away. Just having her around, made feel all the more complete, her coming into my life, was the piece that I was now realizing was making whole after years of isolation. I truly hoped that I had the same effect for her to give her, that despite my own slowly unraveling shell, that I gave the same assurance and warmth to her that felt whenever she smiled or hugged me. Caressing her hair again, she silently stirred pushing her head forward against my hand. I kept myself awake in defiance of my body's protest to just collapse, I still knelt just in awe of her presence, not wanting to lose the sight of her or awake from what must be surely be a dream. I skimmed over the letter again, that search that i set out on four years ago, was fulfilled, and the cure to my alignment was sleeping so calmly and blissfully under my hand. With a finale glace, at the aged paper, my note and last tangible legacy of my past, I tore it up and disposed of it without second thought. My mind was put at ease for that night as I changed into set of pajamas before stealthy entering on the left side of the bed. I didn't bother with the covers, the sheer warmth from Cupa's frame acted almost like a furnace. As I lay out on the bed, a reversal of our normal roles occurred, I was the one to snuggle up the Cupa instead of the other way around. She stirred again rolling around and met the embrace. Her forehead touching mine, and her eyes still open but dreary from sleeping, she gave a finale peck on the lips before closing her amber orbs. As I had done while we cuddled on the chair, I let go of my sight, reliving my strained and sleepy eyes of of their duty as my body took on the role of taking in the warm sensations and feel of our heartbeats.

With my mind going to rest and my body relaxed, all I could sense in my ever increasing torpid state was the soft cushions of the bed supporting me and the knowledge that I had found a precious angel, who was now guarding me and keeping me warm while I slept, an appropriate reparation considering that in a sense I was her guardian angel on the first night we meet. In the fleeting moments before I drifted into unconsciousness I felt her peck my lips with her own once again and heard one audible sentence come from those same lips " Thank you.."

End of Chapter 10

***author's note***

**So sorry for the long wait everyone, but life thought it would be entertaining throw some obstacles at me. When i say "obstacles" i mean clusters of rabid wolverines fired out of a cannon at point blank range right at my face (or at least that's what they felt like. )*sighs* but hey as i said in my biography come hell or high water i will deliver. Thanks for the positive reviews and following and favoriting this story. I know i'm coming off like a condescending ass when i say this...but i'll say it anyway.. please be patient for the new chapters. In the meantime i'll be treating my wounds from those fur balls comprised of pure fury and hatred. Seriously never go near wolverines, if you do encounter a wolverine do not run they can smell your fear, don't fight they get even angrier when they feel like they have been challenged. All you do is make peace with your maker and hope that the wolverine is feeling slightly merciful today and leaves you semi-alive. They are like hornets, only bigger and furrier and angrier. Their sole purpose in life and in nature is to fuck shit up where ever they go and they don't give a damn who or what they are fucking up.**

**Sincerely**

**Saturnine Pariah. ^_^**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: A Day in Sigonella.

I slowly awoke, my body relaxed and sluggish, a odd occurrence considering how attuned my body was to the rise of the morning sun and it's departure in the light of the moon's reflection. I was always quick to awaken but instead I rested my head back on the pillow as I began to recollect the events of the evening and night prior. The scene and emotions played out behind my closed eyelids, and raced across my mind as I rubbed my hair on my chin. Stretching out, I took notice to the absence of the warm body next to me that had accompanied me in peaceful slumber. "_That's odd…Cupa's never been an early bird..where is she?"_ I thought as I sat on the edge of the bed scratching my chin out of curiosity. I changed into a plaid red shirt and gray slacks before I exited the room. The hallway still had its lingering scent of the cinnamon candles, but there was another scent wafting even stronger, overpowering the scented sticks of light. "_Is someone cooking?_" I asked silently to myself as I let my nose lead the way. The closer I got to the origin of the delicious scent, ,the more I began to hear the rustling of people using cookware and upbeat laughter.

I arrived at the hidden source of the smell and sounds, both were behind the door that lead to Gale and Isabel's living quarters. I popped my head through , and saw Gale and Isabel were both still adorned in their respective sleep attire and sitting at their table sipping at their steaming beverages. " Oh, good morning Dill! how'd you sleep?" Isabel asked gleefully. I took a seat with them and they poured me some warm tea from the still full kettle, that rested on the center of the table, on a colorful cozy. I yawned before palming the war ceramic mug. "Very well, thanks for asking…speaking of which, have either of you seen Cupa? It's not like her to wake up before me." "Oh, she's in the kitchen Dill." Isabel said nonchalantly , before sipping her tea. I blinked several times, I knew Cupa always liked to practice cooking and did so when she helped me make dinner or lunches, but this was a first for her to make breakfast and to beat me at waking up in the morning to do so. "She insisted that she'd cook breakfast, we offered her our assistance but she said that she wanted to repay us in this way for our letting you stay with us. She did ask a lot of questions thought about how to make some specific recipes." Gale said before he leaned from across the table giving me a coy look " She's also told us that you've been doing all the cooking. She talked up a storm this morning giving only praise to your culinary aptitude." Gale said " And we both think you're such a sweetheart for making her breakfast everyday..or at least that's what she's told us.. So… Mr. Chef? Would you care to join her in the kitchen?" Isabel asked. Both of them looked at me with raised eyebrows and smug smiles they already knew the answer. My humility made me shrug off the compliments, taking a large sip of my beverage, I stood up. "Well what would expect from me? My father was a great cook and being able to cook and cook very well is a skill set that was non-negotiable for me not to learn when growing up." i replied, they nodded silently raising their drinks in cheers as I walked to the kitchen.

It was longer but narrower compared to my kitchen, but was still made of the same materials, it had larger counters, pantries, cast iron stoves, ovens and plenty of overhanging pots, pans and cooking tools. Near the middle was Cupa, with her jacket tied around her waist, showing her white shirt speckled with food stains, and blue shorts acting as a canvas for hand and finger prints made of flour. She hadn't even changed from the clothes she wore last night. She was rushing about from various pot and pan as the cooking food's scent enveloped me. " Well this a surprise." I said as I walked up towards her. She jumped and yelped to my intrusion, nearly falling down. " D-Dyllan!" she said in a surprised stutter. " So…what are you making?" I asked as I looked over the various cooking food and unused ingredients. " I..I..well.." she began to twiddle her fingers and pruned her hair. " I wanted to surprise you..you always make nice meals for me…so I wanted to make something nice for you…and your god parents…" she said In an embarrassed and defeated tone while avoiding eye contact with me. I turned to one of the pans and stirred about it's contents of sausages to prevent them from burning. I turned back to her, and smiled as I patted her head. "You'll have to try harder to get a jump on me next time." She hung her head, sensing her distress I kissed her fore head. This raised her spirits as she looked up again, more upbeat in her gaze. " But since I'm in here, why don't I give you a hand?" she accepted my offer with a quick nod.

She had done very well on her own, and already cooked half of an entire breakfast; I could see the results of my tutelage of her in the art of cooking come into fruition. I felt some pride in having taught her all I could and seeing the results blossom. She had come very far as i re-collected back to how rough she was the first time she tried her hand at cooking. There was some short and gentle banter between the two of us as we continued to cook, granted I did receive some stains on my shirt in the process. I didn't mind it too much, fore I was enjoying this time with Cupa, cooking always brought me a tranquil felicity and seeing her smile washed away any memory of being irked by the grease stains or mess made on my shirt and pants. We cleaned as we cooked saving us a hassle, and with the meal complete we stood near the doors of the kitchen with the trays of still steaming food in hand, Cupa snuck in a kiss on my cheek. I was surprised and she poked my nose. "Looks like I got the jump on you anyway.". She said in a triumphant tone as she stood somewhat closer to my side, looking at me with a kittenish look in her expression. I rolled my eyes and pinched her nose gently . "This time maybe." I retorted with a smug smile .

Breakfast in it's entirety, was a banquet of various sausages, bacon, fried eggs, tattie scones and fried mushrooms. After distributing the contents of the trays, we dove right into the food, everyone ravenous in their appetites but none so more than than the fiend of food known as Cupa. The only food items I didn't touch were the mushrooms, i had always hated their texture, i could cook and prepare the food, but eating it was a no go for me. I gave Cupa my serving of the fungi. Taking the opportunity, she began to toy me with the fungi, by rubbing the soggy stems and heads of the brown items around my lips. Everyone got a good laugh from my silent gaze of spite, and disgust. Cupa laughed most of all, but gave an apologetic look afterwards, i knew she meant no true ill-will by it and so i let it go easily. Having already cleaned up the kitchen while we cooked, all me and Cupa had to do was get a change of clothing. After an exchange of some pleasantries with our hosts and getting directions to Donaldson's shop, we left for our room. Not paying too much attention to the scenario, we both had entered into the room and we both began to get our changes of clothes from our packs. I was quick to change my attire to a blue colored equivalent of my previous shirt, ash white colored pants and put on my socks and shoes. But I turned to see that Cupa was not a quick as I. A habit instilled by years of isolation of changing alone had, landed both of us into this awkward scenario. We we're both quick to blush when we meet eyes and I immediately re-directed my gaze and made my way for the door. "S-sorry…I'll just leave you to.." before I could finish my sentence or open the door, Cupa had grabbed my hand.

Surprised by her action I was curious and wanted to face her, i took in a quick glance than with a quick jerk of the neck refocused my vision on the iron door handle. I had only caught a glimpse of her skin, black bra and panties but still felt like a complete pervert nonetheless. I kept my gaze off her ,for the sake of her modesty and as to not be rude. " Dyllan?" "Yes" I blurted out quickly, my voice slightly cracked from an uncomfortable mixture of embarrassment and awkward desire. "It's okay...if you look..i mean I did look at you…while you changed...plus this isn't the first time." Her voice didn't come off as too confident with what she was saying, but it sounded sincere. I turned my vision to focus on her face. She was blushing and her face read of being nervous but having more obstinateness than i did in this scenario. "Well, that was a entirely different situation..so…Uh.. I'll just.." I stammered out, pulling on the door handle. "Do you not think I'm pretty? Is that why you won't look at me?" she asked in a despondent tone. I felt her hand grip tighten and my own on the door handle weaken, I imagined a sad look on her face, i felt a twinge of guilt for making her question her body image, but what was also coincided were my less than mannerly thoughts about her body. I felt my entire body heat up as those thoughts emerged from my darker imagination. If this is what sexual tension was, then it was at an all time high. I exhaled through my nose and closed my eyes to try and dispel my perverted thoughts. I released the door handle, abruptly turned around and focused my view only on her face, which was looking surprised, anxious and yet seemed to show some spark of desire in her dilated amber eyes. She adjusted her hair with her free hand and we were both blushing heavily

" No, I think you're beautiful…but I'm just not that well versed with well..." I laughed nervously." Seeing a girl...without their clothes on…especially...it's triggering some very.." I was at a loss for words in this state, so I stopped myself from rambling on like an idiot. Cupa still held onto my hand but she gleamed with a blush,as her eyes sparkled and widened with joy from my compliment, but there was some nervous awkwardness in her gaze as well. Despite all of this, she was still expressing more confidence in this entire scenario than I was, and somehow I could read that she understood where I was coming from. Her clutching my hand, denying me to leave and her comforting gaze, this only further exacerbated my embarrassment and her ever closing proximity,did nothing to help my urge to just make out with her like an animal. Even with my initial focus set on her I still felt my eyes naturally begin to wander to scan over Cupa's body, and I jerked my head away to prevent this. "I-I don't want to come off as a pervert or anything like that…and well...Seeing you like this...Is making me very…." I said as I rubbed the back of my neck and stopped myself form rambling again. I cursed myself mentally for the incoherence, this moment of emotional weakness by the takeover of my more primal urges frustrated me to no end. I must have been coming off like an idiot. An awkward silence took roost, but it departed when Cupa began to giggle. "What's so funny?" I asked, in response she pecked my cheek.

"You are, Dill.." she replied sentimentally. I raised an eyebrow, "_Great now she's calling me by my baby nick name too." _I thought silently. "Well what's so funny about me?" I asked. She laughed again at a joke that I was missing. "I can't explain it, that face you made..how awkward this all is..It's just funny." She giggled again. Seeing that pushing the issue would be fruitless I just sighed and accepted it as it was. "Well…as hilarious as my quirks and inability to cope are to you, could you please put on some clothes..at least for me..I'm really struggling to try not ogle you right now..and it's hard.." I asked , and with desperation in my voice. She pecked my cheek again, with a kiss. " Why's is it hard?" she asked earnestly. I exhaled again "Because... I find you be very attractive…" I said with some reluctance as my face heated up further . We locked gazes, she was still blushing but not with a smile and was now pluming her hair even more, and I rubbed the back of my neck. I gave her a quick kiss on the lips before I turned around and let go of her hand and crossed my arms. " I won't peek.." I said. She giggled again and she quickly changed into a short sleeved fallow brown colored shirt, olive drab colored shorts and tightly secured her necessary belt. Her shirt would remain semi- covered with her creeper jacket. Her clothing, aside from her unzipped jacket ,was loose and bagging on her. We said goodbye to my godparents and made our way to the front porch with the door of the Iron Pig slamming behind us.

We were greeted by a warm sun and atmosphere, the sounds of murmured talking, barking dogs, tweeting birds and the crackling of the gravel road from the traffic of feet, wagons and hooves filled the morning air. As I expected, the passing villagers greeted us with friendly smiles, tips of their hats or courteous waves and wished us good morning. Cupa, wary of many new faces, clung to my side, almost hiding behind me, her eyes wide, but avidly curious as she took in the daylight scene of a village she had only seen at night when we first arrived. I felt apprehensive to show any display of affection or alert other people of us being a couple in public, but seeing her tension and unease, I grabbed her hand. I swallowed down my own fear of judging eyes for her sake, for she was in all likely hood very nervous to be in village again. "You'll be fine, just focus on me if you have to..." I said soothingly as to boost her confidence. She was still looking fearful, but her trust in me took hold and the fretfulness in her gaze lessened, as she slowly took my hand into hers. "We'll take it slow.. just remember, I'm here for you. " I said . She smiled weakly but her body language still leaked out her insecurity. She kept tight to me and her gaze traveled as we were greeted by a cavalcade of native Sigonellians, whom were as vibrant and full of life as I had remembered them being. They causally walked past us with brief and friendly greetings and without second glances to Cupa's unique appearance, this was a typical sight to see, as the Sigonellians were attending to their morning tasks. Birds sung and flew about from the trees or rooftops as the sun lit up the humble stone and wooden homes and shops. As we continued walking we saw the villagers performing their daily chores, they much like me , were starting their tasks early. The air smelled of fresh cut wheat, cooking food, and various other smells that emanated from the buildings or open aired shops. All of it was serene and familiar to me, and it brought about a sense of community.

As we walked along at a even pace, I was guiding Cupa through village streets and pointing out various buildings that held memorable importance to me, namely the still active schoolhouse. We peeked inside the window of the red wooden building and saw the children in their blue and white uniforms listing to their teacher quietly as they sat in their quaint little seats. Continuing our tour, I flashed back to my days of youth stumbling about these streets as child and teenager. Many of the denizens faces were familiar to me, but they paid us little mind to us as we walked by and none of them went beyond saying hello. How could I blame them, even if some of the villagers had remembered me, I would have looked radically different. Local shops that I used to frequent, were still up and running and had their same familiar owners beckoning people to patronize them. I knew of many shops in Sigonella, and I could vaguely remember the others if they saw them, but a clothing store run by a Mr. Donaldson was not familiar at all.

Perhaps he had set up shop when I left? I let go of that passing muse and turned to Cupa. She was far more relaxed than when we first started out. but still kept close to me, She was keen on taking in her surroundings and when passing by the friendly locals, she began to smile and wave back to their friendly greetings. I was relieved to see her more outgoing and upbeat around strangers and in a lively village, considering how she tragically she lost her family and home. Being able to help her acclimate to such scenarios, to help her come to terms with the loss beyond her immediate family and rebuild a new set of relationships with other people, was something she had in part done for me. I knew that I would do the same for her as time went by and it seemed appropriate that the gentile and magnanimous people of Sigonella would be good starting point for her to help rebuild a more interconnected life.

Walking the streets and taking in the landscape, in the company of a person very dear to me, brought me back to the sublime days of my youth. I could still see myself as a small child running through these village streets without any care as my parents followed suite. playfully yelling at me all the while. But beneath my reminiscent thoughts and the relaxation of walking down these roads in the company of a person I loved, I could still feel the tugging prongs that someone or something malevolent was watching me and Cupa. Naturally one could feel eyes watching you being surrounded by people, but as I looked around, the villagers although friendly enough to greet us warmly, paid very little attention or stared at us for too long. No, this feeling that was reoccurring, was more sinister, almost malevolent in nature. I felt all alone in sensing it as no one else, not even Cupa hinted at its presence. Although not as intense as the sensation that I felt in the forest, on our journey here, it still persisted nonetheless. I refocused more on Cupa and my mirthful surroundings , but that paranoid feeling still lingered in the back of my mind.

As we continued our self guided tour, before we would head to Donaldson's shop, I began to hear a loud set of thunderous, metallic footsteps approaching us, from the front. The being producing the peace disturbing sounds, was humanoid, partially hidden as it was trialing a horse drawn wagon. It came into full view as the wagon made a turn on the street's left corner, it was composed entirely of interlocking bolted iron plates and it creaked and groaned as it got closer. It was huge, the size of two men standing on each others shoulders, it's had a large, angular ,broad upper body, and proportional waist and hips. It's two large arms with their almost human like hands, dangled above the ground, swaying in rhythm with its long legs as it walked rigidly towards us, it's various, interlocking joints creaking with each motion. It's smooth, blokish head was anatomically befitting to its angular blokish body. It had large black ocular holes for eyes with red glowing orbs, acting more or less as the pupils and irises. It had a large proboscis like protrusion with holes that were pointed down and away. One could mistake the proboscis for a nose and beneath it was a wide barred slit for a "mouth". It stopped in front of me and Cupa.

A jettison of steam wined from the holes of the proboscis. We both jumped and were taken aback by the behemoth's act of exhaling. The size of the large metallic humanoid was indeed ,intimidating but I was not afraid, for I knew what it was and that it wouldn't harm us. Cupa,understandably out of fear and ignorance, hid behind me, " W-w-what the Nether is that?" she asked. The metallic being with a creak of its neck,cocked it's head as it looked us over with it's impartial red orbs. After scanning us over, it Oddly enough seemed to be smiling using it's "eyes". The being could never really smile, for the slit that could have mistaken for a mouth was just a intake port for cool air. I walked up towards the metal being and extend my hand, it saw this and with it's massive but dexterous metal paw, gently took my own as we shook. It's hand felt rough and cold. "This, Cupa, is an Iron Golem." i said. Seeing that It posed no threat, Cupa moved around from me and stood before the gentle giant. "What does it do?" she asked.

" These big guys, are protectors and muscle for the village. The engineers of Sigonella created them after discovering some ancient schematics decades ago, or at least that's what the story is. They run on hyper concentrated blocks of Redstone. They lift or pull heavy objects, help in construction, watch over playing children, basically they are the silent guardians of the village." i replied. " D-do they fight?" She asked as she looked up at the face of friendly Iron Golem with awestruck eyes. "Well, their naturally gentle beings, but if they detect a threat to a human or the village they are formidable opponents. They can go toe to toe with Endermen and decimate any monster they encounter..These fellas are very hard to take down...but that rarely occurs." I patted the arm of The Iron Golem, "Isn't that right big guy?" I asked. The Iron Golem actually shook it's head in agreement with my statement, then looked at Cupa, still smiling with its eyes. Then using its large ,long arms gently plucked a yellow daisy from a nearby flower bed and handed it to her. Cupa slowly took the gift. " T-thank you." She said in a stammer. The Iron Golem then patted us both on our heads before walking away with its thunderous and metallic footsteps.

" So that' the first time you've ever see an Iron Golem?" I asked as we continued walking, Cupa tucked the flower into her hair ,smiled, then retook her cozy position by my side. "Well, yes.. Tacipe didn't have an abundant amount of iron ore veins; we had plenty of timber, stone and snow...so we just had Snow Golems to do what the same tasks your Iron Golems do." she replied. I blinked several times. " Snow..Golems? I've never heard of those before." i replied. She giggled in response. "I'm not surprised by that, they can only exist in cold climates." she said. She went on to describe them as human sized snowmen that came to life when you placed an enchanted jack-o-lantern on their bodies. They had wooden arms and glided across the ice and snow and acted more like speedy deterrents rather than brutish guards. Apparently their only offensive capabilities was to pelt attackers with ice or snowballs. But since most monsters avoided the colder regions, especially Creepers and Spiders who are poikilotherms and as recorded by hundreds of people in various editions of almanacs, Creepers, Spiders along with Zombies, would freeze solid and die in the colder regions. These Snow Golems made sense in terms of resource use and because of the inert climate barrier, didn't have to fight too often, or aggressively, so such underpowered guardians were reasonable to craft.

But this just raised even more questions. By Cupa's account the main species of monster responsible for the destruction of Tacipe and who possibly killed her parents, were Creepers. But they never go beyond areas that had moderate to high temperatures, otherwise they would freeze solid and die before doing any real damage. These facts nagged at me, for they conflicted with what Cupa described in her account of what happened to her village. Fires and craters were definably the calling card of a Creeper's wrath, and she had seen them and their destructive capabilities first hand. But how and why Creepers attacked Tacipe, a village residing in the cold north, during the start of winter, remained a mystery. I could see how the local Snow Golems would have been overpowered or overwhelmed since their attacks did little damage, but they did have range over the walking green explosive creatures. I looked at Cupa as these thoughts ran across my mind, I would defiantly have to utilize the village's library during my stay here, to further investigate this in a better way than my own meager library at home could provide.

Cupa pinched my cheek and detracted this thought process, she smiled. "What are thinking about?" she asked. "Oh, well I'm thinking about visiting the library after we get you some clothes." I responded, It was the truth but my true motives were still hidden. " Can I come too? Do they let anyone borrow books?" she asked excitedly. "Of course, I just need to look something up. And you can borrow as many books as you can carry so long as you return them on time." I replied before rubbing her hair. We had walked around for a good hour, just exploring the village but now was the time to go to our actual destination. The directions my god parents gave me were pretty clear cut and we saw the rather vividly colored shop as we rounded the street corner. The front was painted in streaks resembling that of the a rainbow, even the stone slates that roofed it were vividly colored in natural earth tones. It was certainly new, and a very garish compared to the other shops that were it's neighbors. A ornately carved piece of flat wood, nailed above the door, resembling an actual sheep, greeted us with a written message on its side. "Welcome to Rainbow Sheep." Cupa let a "d'waa" as we looked over the cute sheep sign. "Do you think the owner is a painter?" She asked sarcastically while poking my shoulder. Looking over it all, I silently nodded. "No, I think he's sculptor." I commented back with a smile. The building was one story tall, had wide open windows, frilly curtains and ceramic wind chimes played their gentle tunes as we approached the door. The interior was even more gaudy with its rows and row of colorful clothing and murals of rainbow colored sheep frolicking in meadows on the walls. Cupa gleamed at it all, and my eye grew wide to how more intense it was on the inside. "_Mr. Donaldson was certainly eccentric for sure.."_ I thought silently as we approached the front desk.

Behind the desk were hanging rolls of various color threads on spools, folded stacks of cloth, flying looms, mannequins fully or partially clothed and various other paraphernalia associated with the craft of a tailor or seamstress. I tapped the small sliver bell on the wooden desk. "Oh, please be of holding on!" an aged but distinctly male voice called out from an unseen location. Me and Cupa both looked at each other with raised eyebrows and surprised gazes. I was taken aback by the heaviness of an accent completely unfamiliar to me and the lack of syntax. Mr. Donaldson was certainly no Sigonellian. " Sorry I am, for waiting I made you." the male voice said again. The voice's owner made it's away around the corner and revealed itself to be a thin frail man older man, dressed in a cyan blue long sleeved collared shirt, a pink vest, yellow apron and bright green pants. He was as colorful as his store. Arched on his nose were a pair of thick glasses that magnified his two different colored eyes. One was brown, the other a deep blue. His head was bald, the only hair he had was a curly white mustache that covered most of his upper lip and whose ends comically curled into loops. He had some wrinkles around his neck and nose, but looked surprisingly young compared to his raspy older voice. Me and Cupa found ourselves starring inappropriately at the man, whose initial mannerisms could explain the eccentricity and vivid coloration of his shop. He looked back to us with a unfazed smile and threw his hands up into the air.

"You, I welcome to Sheep of Rainbows! Help how Can i ?" he asked in a earnest tone. Both of us were taken aback by his accent, our minds working just to try and rearrange the jumbled up words, and so our response was slow. "Well, Mr. Donaldson, we're here to get some clothes that would look good on and fit my.." I froze slightly as I carefully picked out my wording. I could feel both of their gazes on me, Donaldson's was curious and patient while Cupa's was eager and supportive. …"My girlfriend" I said with a slight blush. Mr. Donaldson looked us over with his magnified eyes then produced an endearing smile. " Cute, you two are, love each other for long time I hope." he said. Cupa sheepishly smiled at the complement and I rubbed the back of my neck. "Size, I can be of getting?" he asked. Cupa shrugged her shoulders with nervous smile her face read _" I don't know_" " Sorry..You'll have to take her measurements...Its' been a while for her since she's gone shopping for clothes." I replied. Unfazed by this, Mr. Donaldson, still smiling, produced his white tailor's tape from his deeply pocketed apron and directed us to the fitting rooms.

Cupa was reluctant to remove her Creeper Jacket and go off alone with Mr. Donaldson, but with some gentle assurance from him and I, she entrusted her jacket to me as she went to have her measurements done. I sat on a complimentary bench outside, rubbing the well made jacket. The frayed edges and fading of what must have been a more vibrant green, signified its age. As a finale gift from her parents, the last material possession she had of her former life and of her family, I could understand why she wouldn't want to part with this cherished item. Even as an outsider holding it, I could feel the love sewn and attached to this article of clothing, it radiated a powerful aura all its own as it sat resting on my lap. My eyes wandered as they took in the sheer brilliance of the shop's interior, but such an innocence environment and thoughts about her jacket began to shift. My memory went back to my vision of Cupa in her undressed state, her action of not wanting me to leave the room and that look of desire in her eyes. I shook myself mentality to dispel these thoughts, but they kept on creeping back up.

Cupa returned somewhat giddier and put on her jacket immediately. Mr. Donaldson put away his tool and handed us a scrap piece of paper with all of her measurements. Cupa stood at 170.1 cm, with a leg length of 85 cm. We both knew she was shorter than me, but now we had some specified documentation of it. Cupa had a 71 cm bust, 73.6 cm waist , 76 cm hips. "Like you would have your measurements?" the eager tailor asked me as he produced his measuring tape. I looked at him for moment before I shrugged in approval. Cupa watched all the while with an amused expression as the tailor took in every measurement. I was officially measured at 182.8 centimeters tall with an 81.2cm waist and 91 cm long legs. He then guided us towards the sections that carried clothing in our sizes and left us to our own devices.

With the measurements in hand and Adras being no object, we browsed the rows and rows of clothing. Cupa ran off dragging me by the hand, she was taking great joy in the experience, her eyes tantalized by the outrageous variety of color, textures and styles available to us. I smirked at her child like wonder. Eccentric or not, Mr. Donaldson was certainly a talented tailor and painter , he defiantly lived up the shop's name. After entering the first rows, she left my side and perused the aisles on her own. She was quick to pick out her favorites, I took my time looking and feeling the materials, and looking at the price tags, in total i chose two outfits. Not to my surprise, once she approached me, done with her shopping, most of her outfits were rather gender neutral clothing except for the bras and panties, to which I immediately averted my gaze upon seeing them. But buried beneath at the very bottom of the stack I could make out some dresses or skirts. With her race barely visible behind the stack of clothing, almost completely obscuring her line of sight, I had to guide her to the changing rooms.

I again found myself sitting on the complementary benches holding onto her precious green jacket and keeping order of the outfits Cupa had not tried on yet. The silence was filled by her humming. I started counting up the prices for her articles of clothing and adding my own, I would be down 17 Adras, maybe even 20, if Mr. Donaldson added a tax. Even if the total price was 20 or 30 Adras made no difference to me, as I still saw those coins as worthless and as expendable as seeds or food scraps. I relaxed, rested my head against the wall, closing my eyes to rest them from the strain of the visual overload of my surroundings. But with the closure of my eyes came the resurgence of perverted visions of Cupa dressing and undressing. Again I shook away these thoughts and metaphorically punched myself for thinking in such a way. _" I really need to get some closure on this_.." I thought to myself begrudgingly.

Cupa would pop in and out to show off her new looks and seek out my approval or disapproval, the frequency of which aroused my curiosity. " Cupa, why are you concerned on whether or not I like what you wear..if you like them that's all that really matters" I asked when she popped back out in her fifth change of clothes. She looked away, looking offended by my question. She started twirling her hair with her index finger and rubbed one of her ankles against her other foot. "I just want…to look pretty for you...you said it yourself..that you find me attractive..I just want to look the part…you're spending good money on my clothes…" she said in low, despondent tone. I was both flattered and disheartened by her response, she looked at me with a side glance but still kept her gaze away. I approached her and took hold of one of her shoulders. " I'm sorry…" I said sympathetically. In this silence I further examined her current outfit, it was a sensible burgundy top, it had darker blue floral prints on the shoulders and back. For her bottom she wore a flared tan-brown mid length skirt. She pulled off the look very well, as she had done with all the other outfits but this one lacked the others demure natures and was more feminine. She was still not looking at me, and still expressing her unease with the twirling of her hair.

I exhaled softy through my nose, I did this more out of frustration with myself. She was wanting to, in her own endearing way, please me and garner my approval. In a way I had caused this with the compliment I gave, i had inadvertently relayed a misconception that she should improve or try to giddy herself up for me. I hugged her and pecked her cheek with a kiss. " You look beautiful to me..regardless of what you wear..it's like you said to me..i don't want you to change how you act around me. " I whispered. Her ill-ease melted away and she hugged me back tightly . " You okay now?" I asked. She nodded yes, "Dill, have you tried on your clothes yet?" she asked as she looked around me at my choice of clothes. " No, I haven't I've been too busy being a judge for you." I replied while patting her head. " Well, could you change into them.. I'd like to see how you look." She asked innocently with her hands behind her back and swaying back and forth. " ..Sure.." I slowly said, I was taking good note of her body language, she was up to something but what i had no idea. I grabbed the baby blue dress shirt and grey pants and entered the wooden changing room. It was surprisingly spacious and on its walls were miniaturized fields with frolicking rainbow colored sheep ,the only break in the paint job, was a tall mirror and humble wooden bench.

The clothes fit well, and even thought I didn't care or obsess on my appearance, I did think that I looked rather handsome as i looked at my reflection . I looked at my face and frame somewhat differently as if I were looking at myself for the first time. I had my dad's broad shoulders and long torso. My jaw line was defined but soft in its edging. I had a five o clock shadow accompanying my tuft of black facial hair on my chin. I would need shave sooner or later. My black hair was cut short but thick, a trait I had inherited from my mother. My eyes were a dark shade of brown and as I have been told by my parents and god parents, were piercing, and possibly my best feature. My nose I suppose could be labeled as average, except that if you looked very closely, you'd see that past the crown it would thicken slightly around the nostrils. I went back outside to strut about this new look as per Cupa's request. She walked around me and nodded in approval with a smirk, her eyes mirthful and her eyebrows raised in interest. " I like to see you in the other one now." She asked cordially.

Honoring her request, I retrieved the other outfit and began to change, just as I was pulling my pants off from the previous outfit, finding myself dressed only in my underwear, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I quickly turned around to face Cupa, who was blushing and smiling meekly. She locked the door behind herself as she looked me over. My eyes widened as my face felt completely flushed and hot, and her smile slowly faded away as we meet eyes and as she looked me over further. She was blushing as heavily as I, we both probably had faces resembling Redstones. She then closed her eyes, exhaled deeply, and to my horror and surprise, began to undress. I immediately turned my gaze away as this occurred. " _What the Nether is she doing?" _ I screamed inside my head . I was too paralyzed by bewilderment and by my perverted curiosity, to say or do anything as I glanced at her as she stripped down. I ever so looked directly at her to see her dressed now only in her black bra and panties. She slightly covered herself and looked away when we meet eyes. I immediately shot my gaze back up to the ceiling or anything that could detract my vision from this situation. It was as tense as it was awkward, here we were, blushing heavily, only looking at each other in fleeting glances, standing semi- naked, and locked away in a confined space. Some kids could trace there origins to such scenarios like this one.

What felt like an eternity passed by, as we stood there together, both hesitant and unsure of what to do or say. Cupa slowly approached me, her eyes again were scanning over my body with great curiosity. She gently placed her hand on my chest, causing me to flinch. This touch progressed into a slow gentle hug, my dismay rising with the pressing of her bosom against my chest. My heart rate increased, I felt a jolt of panic and oddly enough pleasure, ride down my spine like lighting as I felt her warm skin press against my flesh. I could feel her chest rise an fall with the motions of her breathing and how rapid her heartbeat was. Her embrace gently grew tighter, until she was wrapped around me like a vine on a tree. She relaxed into my frame and she placed her right ear against the position of my heart. She smiled as she let out a content sigh. Still just processing what was occurring I was slow to move and even slower to meet her embrace, she did not flinch or tense up at all when I cautiously wrapped my own limbs around her. Her skin was smooth, warm and alluring. Her embrace felt as comforting as a fire on cold night, and in this proximity, I could smell her faint natural scent. With the progression of this rather intimate hug, the great fear and confusion i had felt before, melted away, along with my questions for why she did this. My mind became more focused on her in this bonding moment.

She was the first to break away, but she grasped my hand as we stood both somewhat more elated and less tense as before. I felt a smile spread across my lips to match her own sheepish display of solace on her lips. We stood in a more intimate silence. I felt more comfortable or adjusted to this scenario. She was showing no more angst over the fact that we were under dressed nor did I feel the same great qualms as before. I did not want to spoil the situation by asking any questions for why she did this. I had a gut feeling that this was her way of trying to re-mediate that awkward moment we shared in the morning, and it had worked. Her courage to approach me like this, dispelled my nervousness around her in this type of scenario and her confidence flew into me usurping my insecurities. We said nothing with our voices, but spoke with our eyes and smiles.

Reaching a mutual but silent closure, Cupa changed back into her burgundy top and tan brown flared skirt . I went back to my original outfit of blue plaid shirt and gray slacks. Out of her habit she put on her Creeper jacket and readjusted the yellow daisy in her hair. We divided the clothing into two even stacks for both of us to carry and left for the counter. "Find everything easily, you did?" he asked while he added up the price tags and shifted through the articles of clothing. " Oh yes, I must say this the cutest and most colorful shop I've ever been in, did you paint all those murals?" Cupa responded. Mr. Donaldson smiled at the question. " Yes, paint I did everything. Took much time, but very beautiful no?" the tailor responded. We both nodded in agreement. "Please be of giving 20 Adras." He asked after he bagged the clothing. I quickly handed over the 20 green coins and he swiftly put them in what must have been a safe underneath the counter. "Please be of having a nice day!" he pleasantly said as handed us or bags and waved us off. "We will, thank you" me and Cupa replied in unison. Our happy bliss did not last long , for as we exited the building, we were greeted with a small crowd of chattering and murmuring people. They paid no mind to us, all ten or fifteen people of various ages and genders all stood fixed in a semi-circle around something on the Rainbow Sheep's Wall to our far right. Curious, me and Cupa mingled our way through to see what the commotion was.

Impaled deeply into the painted wood, of Mr. Donaldson's store ,via a crude rusted knife was a large torn piece of paper, what was on it made my blood run cold and sent a shiver down my spine. Drawn and written in what could have been blood red ink or real blood, were terrifyingly realistic pictures. One depicted me and one depicted Cupa. Beneath the two pictures was the message, written in a language that I could not discern but upon reading it ,the feeling of a malevolent force watching us from afar struck down my spine. The message although not legible replayed itself in my head as i read and re-read it in a frantic manner "**_Más rud é nach bhfuil na daoine de Sigonella Kill, ar leithligh nó eiseachadadh an dá, beidh do sráidbhaile ag fulaingt ár wrath._**" Cupa's eyes were the size of dinner plates, her face drained of color, fear had washed away her chipper demeanor along with my own. Our hands shaking, we dropped our bags and looked at each other. I looked out and away and to my horror, saw similar crowds all gawking at similar signs on all the other shops on the street.

End of Chapter 11.


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